One of Them
by ScarlettSunshine
Summary: It's a challenge. One week. Lily's hanging out with the Marauders. But trying to keep up with four seventeen year old boys isn't that easy. "If I win you don't ask me out. At all. Never again." "And if I win, you're my girlfriend." This'll be interesting.
1. On a Bet

**Disclaimer: Yeah right, like I could compare to J. K. Rowling. Now way. This is hers.**

**Bold thoughts are James'. Italicized are Lily's**

Lily frowned as she woke up. Her three days were up. It was a 'Watch out for James Potter' day.

She got up and got ready. She ran a brush through her thick red hair and changed into a cream, v-neck sweater and fitted blue jeans.

_Saturday too, how wonderful._

Lily rolled her eyes and then widened them as she applied some mascara, making her green eyes look even bigger.

She pulled on a pair of comfortable cream boots and tucked her wand into one of them. Grabbing her strawberry chap stick Lily finally left the dormitory to find Alice waiting for her in the common room.

"Good morning Alice," Lily greeted.

Alice looked up from her magazine with a smile, "Oh good, you decided to wake up. Come on, breakfast ends soon."

Lily nodded as her gaze swept across the rest of Gryffindor common room. There was no sign of him. She sighed, "Alright let's go."

They left through the portrait hole and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Alice chatting animatedly about the conversation she and Frank Longbottom had in Potions the day before. As they approached the doors to the Great Hall he made his appearance.

_Oh Merlin._

**Here she comes.**

"Alice," Lily pulled on her friend's sleeve, tugging her to a halt. She shot a pointed look at the messy, dark haired...boy before her and Alice got the message.

"Oh Merlin, Potter, don't embarrass yourself. Get out of the way," Alice snapped as she tried to shove him from his spot in front of the huge wooden doors.

James grinned, "No can do Prewett, I have a mission."

"Prongs!" Sirius called. He noticed Lily and Alice and nodded, "Oh, hey Evans, Prewett. James, are you coming to the pitch? We've got a few of Ravenclaws willing to take up the challenge."

James turned his attention away from Lily for a moment to look at Sirius, "Blokes, right?" At Sirius' confirming nod James continued, "The short redhead and the scrawny prudish one?"

Sirius confirmed this as well, "Yeah, and the tall, awkward one."

"Alright. I'll be there," James agreed. He turned back to Lily, "Good morning Lilyflower. I see you slept in today."

Lily cringed a bit at the terrible pet name and then glared, "Potter, move."

He smirked in response.

Alice gave Lily a pleading look as if she could do something about this, "Lily breakfast is over in twenty minutes. I like being able to breathe in between each bite of toast and _sip_ my pumpkin juice not _inhale_ it."

"Aw Lilyflower, I'm sure you're hungry too, don't you want breakfast?"

"Potter, _move_," Lily repeated.

"Only if you'll go out me," James continued to smirk and Lily frowned.

"I'm sorry, Potter, miracles aren't happening for _either_ of us today. You're still here, and I won't date you," she smiled 'sweetly' and James sighed.

Sirius grinned as a pretty sixth year walked by, "Later, Prongs."

Alice and Lily both stared at him in disgust as he walked away and James looked at Lily.

"One date," he said.

"No." Her stomach was on the verge of growling as she stared at the doors behind him.

_Ugh. Alice better thank me for this._

Lily stepped towards James slowly, a smile forming on her lips. She moved closer until she was millimetres away from him and placed a hand on his chest.

_Quidditch does a boy a good._

**What?**

She slid her hand up to his neck to play with his hair. "Potter, I don't want a date...per se...I'd rather just..."

Alice's eyes widened in shock at her friend's actions before she caught on and, sliding past a distracted James Potter, easily reached the door behind him. The moment the door was pushed open and Alice had slipped through James became aware of what was happening.

**She tricked me. Her and her strawberry-ness.**

He grabbed hold of Lily's wrist and gave her a scolding look, maintaining his cool.

"That wasn't very nice."

"You're not very pleasant yourself," Lily retorted. "I'm hungry and you're in the way of my breakfast."

James let her into the Great Hall, no longer seeing the point in trying to stop her, "I'll join you."

"Why? You already ate," Lily said in frustration.

"Well because I love you," James replied seriously.

_Really? Really? That's what you think? Oh my goodness I'm so excited I can't even...wait, yes I can. I LOATHE you._

Lily voiced this thought and James chuckled despite the sting. "That's what you think."

**She loves me. Yep, yes she does. She just doesn't know it yet.**

_I loathe him. He's such an idiot. He just can't take a hint._

James, Lily, and Alice all sat down at Gryffindor table, both Lily and Alice immediately helping themselves to toast and eggs.

"So what are you ladies doing this weekend?" James asked.

Lily glared, "None of your business."

**It was just a question.**

"Well now I'm intrigued," James grinned. "What isn't my business?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Get your mind out of the gutter Potter. I'm finishing a potions assignment then reading a book."

"How interesting," James said sarcastically.

Lily shot him a look, "I'm relaxing. It's Saturday, there are no classes there really isn't much to do."

"Au contraire," James told her as he got himself some pumpkin juice. "It's Saturday, there are loads of things to do."

"Well I'm spending the day with Frank," Alice smiled widely.

"There's something," James pointed at Alice, "Saturdays are good for dates."

"Dates?" Lily repeated incredulously.

"With me."

"Saturdays are good for dates. But dates are only good when you like the person you're with." Lily bit into her toast contently.

"You know, that's the difference between you and us," James started, thinking aloud.

"What do you mean 'you and us'?" Alice asked.

James shrugged, "Like you," he gestured at Lily and Alice, "and Remus, Sirius, Peter and me. Us."

"Well what's the difference?" Lily took a sip of her pumpkin juice, "The fact that we're girls and you're immature, obnoxious, arrogant, egotistical boys?"

"No, the fact that we know how to have fun and you, well you two wouldn't know fun if it sat on the tip of your nose," James punctuated this by tapping the end up Lily's nose and Lily swatted him away violently.

"That's because your idea of 'fun' is being stupid in a group." Lily shook her head at him, "You guys just can't fathom the idea of growing up."

James looked insulted for a second before leaning forward on the table, angling his body towards hers. "You wouldn't stand a week with us," he challenged.

"I don't think I'd want to," Lily spat.

Alice looked between the two of them, "Oh this could get dangerous."

"No really," James continued, "you wouldn't last. And why? Well because Miss Lily Evans doesn't know how to have fun. It would just about kill her."

**Come on, come on, come on...**

"You mean your petty little games and pranks?" Lily scoffed. "Right, because being an idiot and goofing off every chance you get is ever so difficult."

**Is that what she sees it as?**

"Like you could do it," he crossed his arms and smirked.

**Three, two...one.**

"I could too. But unlike you I prefer to act my age."

**There it is.**

"Fine. You think you can? One week."

"One week?" Lily repeated inquisitively.

James nodded, "Yeah. One week Lily. One week so you can prove it. You'll spend one week with me. Me and my mates."

"Fine. Easy," Lily shrugged.

"Deal," James held out a hand but Lily made no move to shake it.

"How about a bet?" she offered.

"Stakes?"

"If I win...you don't ask me out. At all. Not ever again," Lily decided sternly.

"And if I win, you're my girlfriend," James grinned.

"What?" Lily shrieked. "No, no way."

"Are you afraid you'll lose?" James taunted.

Lily's jaw set as she shook her head, "No way in hell. You're on."

She held out her hand. He shook it.

**A/N: SO there's the beginning. Hope you liked it. Please review.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	2. Rules

Lily strode out of the Great Hall in front of James, her head held high defiantly, her posture perfect.

From behind her James shook his head.

**This will be interesting.**

"Hey Lils?" James called to her.

_Ugh, he can't call me 'Lils'. My __friends__ call me 'Lils'._

"What?" Lily snapped, not even bothering to turn around.

James held back a chuckle, "Lily, do you even know where you're going?"

_Not exactly..._

"No," she admitted, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Well then could you wait up so I can show you?" James asked.

_Fine._

Lily stood and waited for him to jog up to her. As soon as he was standing next to her she began walking again, this time slowly, forcing James to pause between each of his longer strides. "So," James ran a hand through his already messy hair and turned to Lily, "what are the...conditions of this bet?"

"Conditions?"

_Conditions like what?_

"Yeah, like if you win I can't ask you out...ever again. And if I win...you're my girlfriend," James grinned while Lily glowered.

_But girlfriends break up with boyfriends...from the minute I'm 'girlfriend' I __am__ qualified to dump him, right?_

"Ah, ah, ah, Lilyflower, I know what you're thinking," James sang.

"And what would that be?" Lily crossed her arms tightly and James raised an eyebrow.

"You were _thinking_ that if you lost, which you will-"

**For good measure.**

"-you'll be my girlfriend for mere minutes before you break it off."

Lily looked up at him, a mix of defiance and question in her expression.

James' eyes narrowed at her slightly. "Don't look at me like that. Like that _wasn't_ what you were thinking."

"Like I'd let you in on my plans," she smirked.

**The lady has a smirk.**

James returned her smirk, "Alright, what about the other conditions. Terms on forfeit...rules for your participation in all things Marauder."

Lily sighed as they made their way out the Entrance halls doors and down the path. "Rules of my participation like what?" she demanded.

"Well in every activity we Marauders do. You can't back out...of _anything_."

"Anything you and your friends do," Lily added to clarify.

_Wait..._

"With _each other_," she added.

"Damn," James stepped closer and lowered his voice, "well I'm starting to think Peter and Sirius might be hooking up so...I think there are few things we're entitled to."

Lily stopped and stomped down hard on James foot. "You're such a prick."

"Also, you have to go along with whatever we're doing. No ratting us out," James said.

"Alright. As long as it's not harming anyone."

**But...that's not going to fly with Sirius...**

"Only if by 'harming anyone' you mean putting their life in danger," he compromised.

"But what if..." at his pointed look she rolled her eyes, "fine."

"And the rules for forfeiting, you can't. Or, well, you can but then you automatically are subjected to your losing end of the bet and a dare from the other person."

Lily nodded, "Same goes for you."

**And I'd forfeit how...?**

_Wait...where are we heading?_

They took a left turn and James was suddenly leading her towards to Quidditch pitch.

"You're...you're kidding...I can't fly!" Lily screamed.

"You _can _forfeit," James reminded.

_Not a chance._

"Give me a broom, moron."

"Sure thing Lilyflower."

"Padfoot! We've got another player!"

Sirius flew down from the goalposts and hopped off his broom as his feet grazed the pitch. "_Evans_?" Sirius drew it out in disbelief. "Prongs I didn't know you were practicing the Imperius curse."

"Very funny."

"Very realistic," Lily said at the same time.

**I would never do that!**

Sirius _accio_-ed James broom and it came whizzing over from the side of the pitch. Sirius handed it over to James, "Here. Evans needs one from the shed?"

_Evans__ is standing right here. Ask her yourself._

"Yeah," James answered. "I'll get one."

As soon as James had disappeared into the quidditch equipment shed Sirius turned to Lily. He waved a hand in her face, "So if Prongs asked you to swim in the Black Lake, would you do it?"

"It's the middle of November Black, why the hell would I do that?" Lily snapped knocking his hand away from her face.

"But if Prongs actually told you...you'd have to?" Sirius looked perplexedly at Lily.

He started waving his hand in her face again, waiting for some sort of reaction. Lily moved back, away from him, and he moved forward, now waving his whole arm. For once Lily was relieved when James returned.

James gave both Lily and Sirius an odd look before realization dawned on his face. He laughed. "Padfoot, I wasn't kidding, she isn't under the Imperius curse."

"Oh." Sirius' arm dropped. "So then what's she doing here?"

"Lily and I have a bet," James explained, "she does whatever I and us Marauders do."

"What?"

"For one week Lily will basically be a Marauder," James said. He filled Sirius in on everything else and when he finished Sirius smirked.

"I thought you wanted to marry her. Why are you trying to kill her?"

_Over my dead body will I marry James Potter._

"Shut up Black," Lily glared.

James handed her the broom and Lily took it hesitantly. She started at the broom as if it were foreign to her. Taking a deep breath she looked up at Sirius and James.

_I could tell them I don't know how...or..._

Lily's gaze flicked between the two boys, finally the mounted the broom and summoned her Gryffindor courage...and any knowledge she had on riding a broom.

Concentrating and thinking back she recalled their lesson from first year. Kicking off hard she went up to hover several feet above the ground. She pulled the broomstick upwards and jerkily rose another foot.

Sirius and James watched her in amusement.

**She's never rode a broom, has she? **

Lily ignored them as James tried to hide his amused smile and Sirius laughed. She tried again, pulling the broom up, smoother this time and went up higher.

_Okay, good. You can do this. Now try and go forward. Lean forward, forward...okay not that fast!_

Lily screamed and bolted upright on the broom, losing both her balance and concentration. The broom came to an abrupt halt, causing Lily to slide down and to the end of it. The broom's handle flipped up, nearly at a ninety degree angle, Lily hanging on to the other end of it.

**Oh Merlin.**

James got on his own broom and flew up to hover beside her.

He tilted his head to look at her face. "Need help?" he offered, smiling.

Lily scowled in response.

"Alright. Well, just let me know if you do," James shrugged and pulled his broom to the right sharply, turning a complete one hundred eighty degrees, heading away from her.

James leaned over the broom slightly, he slowly glided forwards. Lily struggled to try and climb back up on the broom and regain her balance.

_Don't you dare ask for James Potter's help. Don't you dare. You can do this on your own. Just tilt the broom a little more..._

**Oh shit, what is she trying now?**

James glanced over his shoulder warily and winced as he saw what she was attempting.

**Merlin, what is she ****doing****? She's going to fall!**

_Maybe I do need some help..._

James turned his broom around to head back towards her, while Lily gripped her broom even tighter and took a deep breath, finally deciding to call for help.

"Lily, what the hell are you doing? You're going to fall!"

"Can you get over here and help me!" Lily shouted at the same time James yelled to-or at- her. "Please?" she added.

James grabbed the end of the broom Lily wasn't clinging to and pushed it down effortlessly, bringing it back to being parallel with the ground. Lily sighed in relief.

"Swing your leg back over the broom," James instructed.

Lily looked at her position. Neither of her legs were on the broom, just sort of hanging off the end. She ignored James chuckling as inched her way back up the broom until her feet hit the foot rest/stand. From there she sat herself upright and James held out a hand to steady her while she swung her foot over the broom.

Lily looked at the hand, looked at the broom, then took the hand and swung her leg over.

"Thank you."

"Oh but you didn't need the help," James taunted, smirking.

"Shut up."

"Have you ever been on a broom before?" James asked.

"Yes," Lily responded testily.

"Oh really? When? First year?" James guessed.

Lily mumbled a reply of 'maybe' and James nodded.

"That's what I thought."

"Well, I'm a muggle-born; I'm not used to brooms flying. I like to keep my feet on the _ground_," she looked down as if proving some kind of point.

James ran a hand through his hair, "Alright. We'll give you five minutes to go around the pitch a couple of times. Flying isn't that hard, you seemed to get the basics anyway. Just...be careful, okay?"

Lily rolled her eyes but nodded anyway.

_Lean forward...forward...okay stop there...tilt down...pull up, higher, higher, higher...across the pitch, turn left...sharper now turn right...up, down, up, down, up, down...yeah this is fun...dive down...rocket up...around, and around, and around..._

"Lily! We're starting the game!" James called.

Lily sighed and dove back down to land a few feet away from the group. She looked around and realized more people had joined the group.

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew (the other two members of the Marauders besides James and Sirius) were standing beside James and Sirius.

_Potter and Black weren't kidding. _

There was a short, stocky redhead standing alongside a taller, awkward-looking bloke. Lily hated to admit it but she could even tell who the 'scrawny' and 'prudish' one they had mentioned was. There were a couple others too, a girl who looked like she was in sixth or seventh year, and a runtish-looking sixth year with a mop of blond hair and a broom as big as him.

"Team captains, Potter and Ralston," the mop-ish kid announced. He was small, but he had a voice on him.

James nodded and so did the scrawny, prudish bloke, Ralston.

"I call Bailey!" Ralston pointed at the girl and she stepped over to where he was.

**We're the Marauders. It doesn't work that way.**

James gave Ralston a condescending look before turning to his mates, "Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, and Lilyflower."

Ralston's mouth dropped open indignantly but closed again as Sirius, Remus, Peter, and slightly reluctantly Lily, joined James and started to head to the other end of the pitch.

"I thought we start over there," Lily looked over at the middle of the pitch and Sirius shook his head at her.

"Well we need to plan our strategy," he said, as if she should have already known.

"Right." James clapped his hands together, "Since there's no snitch in this, just the quaffle, Sirius will play keeper." James waited for Sirius' nod in agreement before continuing, "Peter, you hang out in the middle of the pitch, okay? You just get in people's way and stop them from getting closer to the goals." Peter nodded vigorously and James moved on, "Remus, you try and stick around their goals, try not to move too far away from there. If anything doesn't go in or in comes your way, that's your job to handle."

"Alright," Remus shrugged. He wasn't much of a quidditch player, better than Peter but he hadn't tried out for the team.

"And you, Lilyflower, you-"

"Wait," Lily held up a hand to stop him, "if you call me 'Lilyflower' again, I swear to Merlin you won't be around long enough to see the end of the game."

**I spent hours on that pet name!**

Sirius smirked, "I think it's fair. We all have nicknames. You could be 'Theloveofprongslife' if you prefer."

Lily smiled sardonically, "You know, James said you and Peter hooked up earlier."

Sirius gaped at James, "Peter isn't my type at all!"

_Huh?_

"So you are...?" Lily looked confusedly between Sirius and Peter until Sirius realized his mistake.

"No! No, my type is _female_. _I like girls_."

Peter stared in the other direction uncomfortably.

Remus laughed, "Look at him! He's not sure if he should be insulted or grateful!"

James laughed as well and Sirius crossed his arms angrily.

"Oi! Enough! I am _straight_- not that Peter wouldn't be lucky to have me- I am _straight_."

"Enough about your sexuality Padfoot," James didn't bother to fight back the smile spreading across his features. "Now back to Lily. You, I want you to do whatever you can to steal the quaffle. Your job is to confuse them."

_Yes, that is a brilliant plan! Note the sarcasm._

"Okay, and say that actually works...then what do I _do_ with the quaffle?"

"You get it to me. Trust me, you're stronger than you look," he winked at her.

_What the hell does that mean?_

**Come on, let's win this thing.**

_**A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading! Please review. Alright, I realize that I didn't put a question at the end of the first chapter...so here are two.**_

_**one: my favourite number is...what?**_

_**two: I drew a picture for someone yesterday, what was it?**_

_**Well I just want to thank everyone for the reviews. I didn't expect that many but they literally made my day!**_

_**Reviewreviewreview!**_

_**Anyways,**_

_**Scarlett**_


	3. The Awkward One and Contracts

Lily's heart raced as the quidditch game started. The first few minutes went by uneventfully. The quaffle continued to pass between the two teams until the runtish kid-Hortensky Lily had found out- attempted to score points on their side.

Sirius kicked the quaffle, hard, sending it flying for Peter to catch. Peter looked around, panicked, and threw the ball...well, _upwards_, then ducked and dodged it as it came back down.

James flew in and caught the quaffle, just as The Awkward One flew in for it the other way.

_Oh Merlin._

James turned sharply, narrowly missing The Awkward One, preventing a collision. Lily let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. As Ralston and Bailey joined The Awkward One, zooming at James who still held the quaffle. James zigzagged through the opposing players until the scrawny/prudish seventh year- Connors- riskily cut in front of him. James halted and, without hesitating, chucked the ball to an awaiting Remus.

With three of their players still surrounding James, it wasn't hard for Remus to toss the quaffle straight through the middle goal. Sirius whooped loudly and James pumped a fist in the air.

**Yeah, Remus!**

The game went on easily enough after that. Lily didn't do much, just flew around entertaining herself. Her time to 'confuse them' had yet to come.

_Stupid Potter. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for stupid Potter. Confuse them, confuse them, confuse them...confuse them...confuse them...Sirius has the ball...and James has the ball...oh score! Yay! ...I don't like this Ralston bloke so much...think he likes Bailey...what? Oh shit!_

Lily shrieked as the quaffle came flying her way. She caught it of course...Sirius' threw more than perfectly...problem was, once she had it she had no freaking idea what to do with it.

_My job is to confuse them. Confuse them._

Both teams stared at her for a minute before James mouthed 'Go!' while waving an arm towards the goalposts. Ralston, TAO (The Awkward One) and Hortensky came bulleting towards Lily.

Lily dove straight to the ground, flying a foot and a half above the ground, close enough to reach down and grab a handful grass herself. She turned around and flew across the shorter length of the pitch. Not giving the opposing team enough time to figure out where she was going, they were still trying to follow her track to the ground. She shot up and looked at the goalposts ahead of her. She was too far to have sure shot at the goal and pudgy redhead guarding the goals zeroed in on her.

_No, no, no, no._

Lily hurled the quaffle to James and he caught it effortlessly.

_It's like he does everything like that. Effortlessly. Damn him._

**Nice throw.**

James tossed the quaffle through the goals, past the pudgy redhead.

"Lily, you played great," James complimented.

Lily just nodded slightly and mumbled, "Thanks."

Remus gave her a hug.

**Why couldn't I be prefect? I could get the responsibility of Head Boy, and I still don't get a hug from the Head Girl?**

"Yeah, Lily who knows, maybe this is stuff the stuff you were cut out for," Remus joked.

Lily gave him a 'who are we kidding?' look and Remus laughed. Lily shook her now wind-blown hair out of her face to no avail. Her hair fell back in her face and she stopped walking with the group as they headed back to the castle. She flipped her hair down and pulled a hair elastic off her wrist, tying it into a messy bun near the top of her head.

She sighed,

_Better._

James watched the shorter pieces of Lily's hair at the front fall back in his face, framing it nicely. Lily tucked the right side back behind her ear, "Alright, well I'm going to go finish my potions essay. Buh-bye boys." She smiled 'sweetly' and began to head away.

"Oh, Evans," Sirius sang. Lily turned.

"What Black?"

"It's lunch," they chorused.

"Meaning...?" Lily prodded.

"We're going to eat," Peter chirped.

"Hate to break it to you all," Lily said, "but lunch ended about half an hour ago."

Sirius gave James a warning look. James looked at Lily, then back at Sirius.

**We'd have to show her eventually...**

"Well we have ways around that," James started.

Sirius hit James arm, "Don't _divulge_ our _secrets!_"

"Oooh," Remus looked at Sirius, impressed, "big words."

"Thank you," Sirius bowed. "Now Prongsie," he put his arm around his best mate and turned him away from Lily, "see, we can't tell her these things because she can't be trusted." He spoke to him as if he were a two year old. "She, she _will_ _get us in trouble_."

"No she won't." James shrugged off Sirius' arm.

"She could."

"But she won't."

"Why not? She _hates _you."

**Harsh.**

_Hate. Hate?_

"I'm still here. And I can speak for myself," Lily put her hands on her hips. "Now look, are you telling me or not? Really, I have other things to do."

James' fists clenched at his sides and Sirius glaringly rolled his eyes, "Fine. Tell her. But first, Remus you contract this little bet of theirs. I. Want. It. In. Writing."

"A contract?"

"Yep."

Twenty minutes later Remus was writing up a contract while eating grilled cheese sandwich. James and Sirius had gone to the kitchens themselves and brought back grilled cheese sandwiches.

Remus swallowed a bite of sandwich and then looked at Lily and James, "Now repeat that one? The thing about how much time..."

"Lily spends every waking minute with us," James answered simply.

"I never agreed to that," Lily protested angrily.

**She's so cute when she's angry. All flushed and passionate.**

"Uh...James, she has a point, I mean what about sleeping arrangements? 'Every waking minute' is a little irrational," Remus pointed out.

James smirked, "Sleeping arrangements? I think we can work those out. I mean...Peter can take the floor."

"Hey!" Peter squeaked.

Lily looked appalled, "I'm _not_ sleeping in Peter's bed."

Again smirking, "I'm sure I can make room in my bed if you prefer."

_Ew. Ew, ew, ew._

**And I'd get to hold her close...**

They spent another forty minutes resolving...issues in the contract before finishing lunch.

Lily dusted her hands together and downed the rest of her pumpkin juice. "Okay, three o'clock. We have hours of the day left. What do the oh-so-great Marauders do on Saturday evenings?"

"Well tonight we have a karick party planned in the Gryffindor common room," Sirius announced.

"Karick?" Lily repeated questioningly. "What?"

Remus sighed, "He means _karaoke_. Right Pads? Care-ee-oh-kee?"

"Uh-huh," Sirius agreed proudly. "We're going to be singing."

_Oh I'm not singing. Not in front of people. No, no way._

"Wizarding music?" Lily clarified hopefully. She could maybe get out of this one...

"Nope. All muggle. Karaoke is muggle too you know."

"Right."

_Damn._

**I'm going to sing a duet with Lily. **

_Damn damn damn. _

"Wait," Lily looked at them, "how are you going to set up karaoke in Hogwarts?"

"We have a book," Peter beamed, "we got a spell to project it all. We got a record player, too. We magicked all kinds of music onto it!"

_I guess they're not all looks, now are they?_

**Yep, no way out Lilyflower.**

Lily nodded slowly and pushed her plate away. James stacked their empty plates and levitated the dishes to the side. The common room was pretty empty, aside from a few first years, and they hadn't dared to ask the Marauders where they had gotten their late afternoon snack. Lily stretched out on the carpet, propping herself up on her elbows.

**Oh...does she do that on purpose? Her figure...every curve. Merlin, I need to buy her a sweatshirt. A really big, baggy, sweatshirt. Or not...**

Sirius shoved Peter over on the couch so he could sit beside him; putting his head on the armrest and using his feet to push peter even farther down the couch, sprawling across the whole thing. Peter sat on the other armrest and shot Sirius a look. Sirius grinned and put his hands behind his head.

"Back to this contract. You two need to sign," Remus instructed, handing them the parchment and a quill.

James let Lily take the quill first; dipping it in the ink she searched the contract for the line to sign. She sighed and signed her name with a flourish. Smiling at the finished piece she handed it over to James sharply.

James smirked at her and scribbled down his own name before handing it back to Remus. James couldn't wrap his head around the bet. It was as if he couldn't understand his own thinking. If he won, Lily was his girlfriend, not by choice, but she would still hold the title. And eventually, with all the time she'd have to spend with him, she'd love him. Probably. Or she could be so upset that she lost and was with him against her will that she'd hate him even more than she already did. And on the off chance that he lost the bet...well he had no idea. He was hoping by the end of the week she'd have some sort of a soft spot for him and they could at least be friends.

Lily, on the other hand, was kicking herself for agreeing to this in the first place. Of course, she couldn't back out now, that would be admitting defeat, like she couldn't do it. And Lily Evans refused give up. If she won she'd be free. No more being chased down the hallways, no more mornings avoiding anywhere James Potter might be (although he always seemed to find her anyway), no more date invitations to decline. But if she lost...Lily didn't want to think of the possibilities.

Lily and James had no idea what they had gotten themselves in to.

**A/N: Alright, this is kind of short and yes, I know it. On the brightside there will be karaoke in the next chapter. So you have that to look forward to...if you like karaoke. **

** Now for the question...Disney movies are the best...what's my favourite?**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett **


	4. Karaoke

_Karaoke?_

Lily looked around the common room. It was filled with people, mostly Gryffindors with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws mixed in. They had butterbeers going around for everyone and firewhiskey in the back for fifth, sixth and seventh years.

Remus and James had gone to set everything up and Sirius was drinking firewhiskey whilst chatting with a group of girls. Peter had been left to guard the firewhiskey from fourth years and was having a fairly difficult time.

Lily stood in the middle of the common room, not quite sure what to do with herself since she hadn't been given a job. She sipped her butterbeer slowly, then, spotting Alice near the makeshift stage she went over.

"Hey Alice," Lily smiled at having someone to talk to and Alice smiled back.

"Hey Marauderette. How is it going?"

"Ugh," Lily groaned, "_don't_ call me that. No nicknames, clear?"

"Fine, fine," Alice waved it off. "Anyhow, I can't believe they brought you into this."

_Neither can I._

Lily rolled her eyes, "No kidding. I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to agree to this crap in the first place. What the temptations of a Potter- free life will do to you."

Alice laughed and shook her head while Lily was completely serious.

"You'll make it through," Alice assured.

"Maybe."

Alice turned to see James and Lily sighed. "You know, you're a Marauder, you should be with the rest of us," James pointed out.

Lily looked at Sirius- or more like the group of girls surrounding him. "Sirius isn't with you guys."

**Oh.**

"Well, he's participating in Marauder-like activities," James countered.

Lily scanned the room, "Fine. Alice, they look nice, let's go." Lily grabbed Alice's wrist and tugged her towards a couple of good-looking blokes.

Not being able to reach Lily, James got a hold of Alice's wrist and tugged her back. Lily looked to see what was anchoring her and smiled. "What Potter? Is there a problem?"

**Damn her cuteness.**

"No. Talk to whoever you want. I have to get started," James told her, with a tinge of annoyance. However by the time he worked his way through the crowd and onto the stage the annoyance was gone and he was smiling charmingly out to his audience.

"And how's everybody doing?" he asked amplifying his voice with a mutter of '_sonorus_'.

The crowd responded with raised drinks and a chorus of whoops. Sirius noticed James on stage and excused himself from the girls, joining James.

"As you are probably aware," James continued, "this is the Marauder-organized Hogwarts karaoke night."

"Slytherins not welcomed," Sirius added

James nodded, "Right. Now butterbeer's over there," he pointed, "firewhiskey, no one under the age of fifteen please, is at the back, and the sign-up sheet...is right here." James summoned a piece of paper and held it out to the closest person.

_Fifteen year-olds should __not__ be drinking firewhiskey. _

"Involuntary volunteers will be forced to sing, whether they like it or not," Sirius said.

_What?_

"Now, just to get this started," Sirius raised his own glass of firewhiskey and downed a good half of it, "Moony, Wormtail...oh and one Miss Evans, come join Prongsie and I."

Remus sighed and shook his head but went up on stage anyway, and Peter bounded up there, ready as ever. Lily just stared at the four boys looking expectantly at her.

"We always start our events," Peter whispered down to her excitedly, "come on."

And so Lily ended up standing next to the Marauders on stage, trying to ignore the whispered questions and looks of curiosity and jealously aimed towards her from the audience, mumbling and mouthing the words to a song she didn't know, didn't choose, and wasn't so sure she liked.

It was the longest three and a half minutes of her life. And, yes, she counted. When it was over, she practically jumping off stage and scurried back to the security of Alice and warm butterbeer. After that, Lily wasn't paying attention to what took place on stage, obviously or almost drunk couples singing sappy love songs, attention-seeking girls belting out loud and obnoxious pop. Lily found herself babbling on and on about anything that came to mind to Frank and Alice. Pretty soon, she had a slight buzz from all of the butterbeer and was tuning out the noise around her, just to hear herself think.

_What time is it? How much longer until all of this is over? What is this song? Where'd Alice and Frank go? Oh, there they are. At least they look happy. Well you could be happy too. Go talk to someone. I could go over there and-_

"Lily."

She turned around as James tapped her shoulder.

"What, Potter?"

**Well maybe this wasn't a good idea. She sounds angry.**

"Look, I know you're not happy about that first song, but I signed us up for another," he spoke slowly and carefully then ran a hand through his hair.

"No," Lily said firmly. "I am _not_ singing another song with you guys."

"Not us. Me. Well, me and you," James explained. "Please?"

**Please. Please. Please. Please.**

Lily considered this for a moment.

_Well it could be a chance to prove I can do this. I mean if I can't do karaoke with them heaven knows how I'll be able to survive this whole week._

"I can choose the song?" she asked.

James grinned, "Absolutely."

* * *

They stood on stage, waiting for the music to start. Lily stood rigidly, realizing she really did not want to be there. And James, well, completely comfortable.

The lyrics were projected on the far wall for them to see, just like Remus had told her they would be. She knew the song well enough to follow along fairly she figured, and James was pretty good at catching on.

James began, "She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not.

She loves me, she loves me, she loves me

The lady loves me, and it shows

In spite of the way she turns up her nose.

I'm her ideal, her heart's desire

Under that ice, she's burning like fire

She'd like to cuddle up to me. She's playing hard to get.

The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet." James had stumbled a few times, but caught up near the end, singing the last line smoothly and turning to face Lily with a smirk.

Lily faced the audience and shot a glance at James before singing the next verse close to seamlessly, "The gentleman has savoir-faire

As much as an elephant, or a bear

I'd like to take him for a spin, back to the zoo to visit his kin

He's got about as much appeal as a soggy cigarette

The lady _loathes_ him but he doesn't know it yet." It took James a second to realize what was going on and he had to chuckle to himself.

**She definitely is clever.**

And then he sang, "The lady's got a crush on me."

Lily laughed, "The gentleman's crazy, obviously."

"The lady's dying to be kissed." He stepped closer towards her and Lily stepped back.

"The gentleman needs a psychiatrist.

I'd rather kiss a rattlesnake or play Russian roulette." Every muggle-born and a few half-bloods in the room laughed.

"The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet," James moved even closer, making Lily near the edge of the stage. "She's falling fast, she's on the skids."

Lily dodged and circled around him to the other side, "Both of his heads, are flippin' their lids."

James checked the lyrics, "Tonight she'll hold me, in her arms."

Lily raised her eyebrows, now slightly enjoying this, "I'd rather be holding hydrogen bombs.

Will someone tell this Romeo

I'm not his Juliet."

"The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet."

Lily tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned her back to him, facing the people by the side of the stage.

James smirked and went up behind her, "She wants me."

"Like poison ivy."

"Needs me."

"Like a hole in the head."

"Everyone can see she's got it bad."

"Oh! He's mad."

Lily turned back around, nearly running into him, "The gentleman is an egotist."

James however moved forwards, not back, "I'm simply aware I'm hard to resist."

"He's one man I could learn to hate."

"How about having dinner at eight?"

"I'd rather dine with Frankenstein

In a moonlight tete-a-tete," Lily pushed him backwards.

"The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet.

Oh yes she loves me."

Lily pointed away from the stage, "Dig that shrinking violet."

"Oh she really loves me."

Lily smirked, "Here's one gal you'll never get."

"She lo-lo-loves me."

"Would you like to make a bet?" Lily almost laughed at the irony.

She pulled out her wand while James glanced at his last line, "I said, the lady loves me."

Lily pointed it at him and without even saying the spell aloud water burst from the end to spray James from his head to his chest, "The gentleman's all wet."

Lily left the stage to applause as James dried himself magically.

"That was really good," he said, catching up to her.

"Well I certainly had fun," Lily commented.

James shrugged, "I suppose it would have been nice if the humour was slightly drier but, oh well."

Lily couldn't help but laugh, "That was one of _the_ most pathetic jokes."

**Hey, she said it was fun. Even if it was at the cost of my dignity.**

"You laughed, not me," he pointed out.

Lily ignored his comment and instead asked, "How much longer is this going to go on before I can leave?"

"Oh but you said you had fun," James patted her shoulder. "You've got to stay."

"Potter, don't. Touch. Me." She swatted his hand away.

**She looks tired. It's only two o'clock!**

James tried to find Sirius while Lily waited impatiently for a proper answer to her question. James waved Sirius over from his spot at the back of the room and watched Sirius amble and trip over his own feet trying to reach where James and Lily were. After watching Sirius bump into and nearly knock more than a few people over he met him halfway.

"Pads, I think we should call it a night. Everything's winding down anyway," James held out an arm as Sirius swayed a little too far to the left.

"But-but Prongsiee I-I haveneven- the preeettygarrrl overtherres waiting an..." Sirius slurred and then lost track of what he was saying.

James slapped Sirius' cheeks to bring back his attention, afraid he would drift off to sleep still standing. "Sirius, I don't think you're in any condition to deal with a girl, let alone the aftermath tomorrow morning. So tell the pretty girl goodbye, and I'll tell the rest of the people karaoke is over."

Sirius held up a finger as if to protest but thought better of it and nodded. James went back to Lily to let her know she'd be able to leave in a few minutes and after talking to her headed towards the stage so he could let everyone know they were to head back to their common room. But Sirius beat him to it.

**Oh. Shit.**

_Oh Merlin, Black you're drunk, don't make fool of yourself..._

"I would just like tosey thamy frenja-James," Sirius paused for awhile, thinking, "hees a relly, relly, rally, good fren an hees hees," Sirius' eyes began to droop, "like a brrrotherrr tam eh an-"

James ran up on stage and gently pulled Sirius off of it and handed him over to a very sober Remus.

"Sorry about that, he's a real sentimental guy when he's...drunk," James shrugged slightly. "What can you do?" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Well were going to call it a night. And just a reminder, thought this isn't an expellable nor even a detention-able offense, we'd prefer if this wasn't mentioned to any uptight heads of houses. Thanks." James nodded, "Goodnight."

Suddenly Sirius was back on stage and Remus was looking around as if he somehow just slipped out. "Thank yous. Thisas been wonderful."

He swayed a little and James laughed.

"You know you're drunk, right?"

"I do," Sirius looked up. "Areou drrunk?"

"No Padfoot, it's just you."

_Well this is entertaining._

**_A/N: Sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoyed it though. All credit goes to J. K. Rowling obviously for characters setting and etc. but the song here is all thanks to one Mr. Elvis Presley who is more than amazing and Ann-Margaret who he sang the duet with originally. Now as for the question if you can tell me which Elvis movie the song is from well kudos to you._**

**_Thanks to hideyowifehideyokids who went and reviewed my last story and somewhat promised to read this and I hope you are. Your reviews were great._**

**_Thanks for reading and please review!_**

**_Anyways,_**

**_Scarlett_**


	5. Morning 1

**Oh Merlin. Morning. And here we go.**

James sprung out of bed and grabbed his towel on his way out. He headed straight for the bathroom since it was early, giving him more space than if he waited another half hour.

He was wide awake and going back to his shared dormitory fifteen minutes later.

_Oh my Merlin._

**Oh shit.**

James composed himself quickly and nodded at Lily, "Good morning gorgeous. Anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?"

Lily tore her gaze away from the sight that was a half-naked James Potter and shook her head. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Unless you can't help it," James added. Lily wasn't sure as to whether he was referring to her comment or his.

"Morning James," Remus said over his shoulder as he rifled through his trunk.

"Morning," James replied. "When'd Lily get here?"

_Yeah, that's all right, just pretend I'm not._

Remus found whatever it was he was looking for and finally turned to look at the other occupants of the room. He chuckled at James' state of being wrapped from his waist down in only a towel. "A few minutes ago. Sorry mate, I didn't realize you'd-"

"Ah, it's alright," James shrugged. "She's probably enjoying herself anyway."

"Ew," Lily thought aloud automatically. "I came because the contract said every mutual waking minute, did it not?"

"Something like that," James said. "We don't pay attention to the details until we have to."

_Of course you don't._

"Hey," Remus waved in the general direction of a sleeping Peter, "get him up, will you?"

James looked down at his towel and then at Lily, then back at his towel. "Give me a minute."

_Jeez Lily, stop. Quit looking at him. He's James Potter...you don't think James Potter looks good shirtless. You don't. Now stop._

**How do I say this? 'Though I'm sure you wouldn't mind, I'm going change and you should cover your eyes.'?...She'd call me arrogant. **

"Lily, I'm going to get ready so do you want to...?" James trailed off hoping she'd make it less awkward and finish for him.

Lily complied to this, "I'll wait in the hall."

"Uh, maybe you shouldn't." Remus shot a sideway glance at the door, "Some people were worse than Padfoot last night, you might see worse out there."

"How bad could it be?"

Both Remus and James considered this until finally Remus went to his trunk and pulled out what looked like an old, too small, worn out Gryffindor tie. With a second to find his wand and quick mutter of _engorgio_ the tie was larger. Large enough to fit around Lily's head and cover from her eyebrows to the bridge of her nose, it served as a blindfold.

"There." Remus pulled the knot tighter so it kept the 'blindfold' on her head but wouldn't be too tight. "Now...how many fingers am I holding up?"

Remus waved three fingers back and forth in front of the tie.

"Fourteen," Lily joked. Remus shook his head, even though Lily couldn't see him. "Really, if I see something, you'll hear me scream."

James ignored her comment and went over to his trunk. He pulled out a gray, long-sleeved shirt and then grabbed a pair of dark jeans from the chest of drawers and pair of boxers.

He was ready in less than a minute and then sitting on his bed with his towel beside him, pulling on his socks.

"So..." Lily looked down at her lap since all she was seeing was red and gold anyway. "Um, what are we doing today?"

_I feel ridiculous._

"Who knows?" James shrugged, glancing back at Lily. "You can take the blindfold off now."

"Oh." Lily tugged at the tie until it slid down around her neck and she reached behind her neck to untie it.

_My hair's probably a mess now._

Once she had ridded herself of the tie she pulled her hair down from the ponytail it was previously in to let it fall loose. She shook it out until it no longer felt tight from the ponytail and then turned to Remus.

"So there are no plans today?"

"No. No plans." Remus paused. "Come to think of it...we never start the day off with plans."

"No, we don't," James agreed. "And days are better because of it."

James threw his towel off to the side in the general direction of his trunk. He messed up his hair, running his fingers through it and then pushing some of it out of his eyes.

"Not even going to _try _and brush it Potter?" Lily asked.

James shrugged in response.

**What's the point? It'll be messy anyway. At least this way it looks like it was on purpose.**

James went over to Peter's bed at looked at the short, lumpish form under the covers. He smirked and shoved his hands between the mattress and bed frame. He looked at Remus for some sort of protest or lecture but Remus just waved him on.

"Go on, it's Sunday."

"What are you-" Lily started but then stopped and decided to just watch for the answer.

"Wake up, Wormtail!" James said loudly. The only reply from peter was a grunt. James began to lift the mattress up, slowly, until it was nearly at a ninety degrees angle.

"Put me down," Peter groaned. "Put me down."

_If Alice ever tries to wake me up like this, I swear I'll kill her._

"Nope," James grinned. He lifted the mattress up and Peter grabbed onto an edge to hang on. At this point, James was kneeling on the bed frame and Peter was begging to be left alone. James jerked the mattress forward then jumped back off the bed and let it drop back down- effectively throwing Peter off of it.

Lily's eyes widened as she heard the _thud_ of Peter's body hitting the floor followed by a string of mild cursing.

"Something is definitely wrong about you boys," she mumbled.

Peter got up from the floor and ambled around his bed to sit on the other side. "Why?" he muttered. He looked over at the last occupied bed in the room. "What about Sirius?" he pointed. "Why don't you throw him?"

James looked over at Sirius too, "He's hung-over. You just can't do something like that to a hung-over man."

"That's not fair," Peter complained.

Remus, who was already dressed and ready, started to neaten up his section of the room. "By all means, if you want to throw him go ahead. But we're not helping you."

"Fine." Peter stood up and went over to Sirius' bed.

"Hey Pete, don't worry. When he kills you, I promise we'll throw you a brilliant funeral," James laughed as he pulled on a pair of socks and his shoes.

"Whatever." Peter put his hands between Sirius' mattress and bed frame then knelt on the edge while he tried to lift.

**Good luck Pete.**

_Aw. Poor guy, huffing and puffing._

Finally giving up on getting the mattress any higher than a couple inches, Peter put it down and started hitting it, causing the mattress to shake. This didn't seem to have any effect on one sleeping Sirius Black as he just rolled over.

Peter glared and hit the mattress more violently.

Suddenly his eyes widened and he stepped back. "Oh shit."

_What?_

Sirius rolled over again, "Did you just hit me?"

"It was an accident," Peter squeaked.

"Well what were you trying to do?"

"Wake you up."

Sirius paused for a moment and put a hand to his head. "Pete, Prongs' nightstand, the drawer, give me the vial in there."

Peter nodded, still fearful, and went over to James nightstand. He moved a few things around inside before coming up with a vial. He went over to Sirius and silently handed it over.

"Thank Merlin for sobering draughts," Sirius sighed.

"Yeah, thank Merlin," Remus told him sarcastically. "Otherwise, how else would you get drunk and not deal with the consequences."

"Sobering draught?" Lily repeated. "How did you get a sobering draught?"

James sighed, already seeing what was coming next. Then he answered, "We have our ways."

"And it's kept in _your_ possession?" Lily asked accusatorily.

James nodded and opened his mouth to explain but was cut off by Sirius.

"And _you_," Sirius smiled and sprang out of bed (shirtless, Lily noticed), advancing towards Peter. "You're dead."

Peter shrieked and fled from the room, Sirius running after him.

_Two shirtless Marauders in one morning. Oh the horror._

Lily went over to the window and looked down. Most of Hogwarts students were already outside, walking towards the lake or pitch.

She shook her head in annoyance and then turned to the two remaining boys in the room. "We've missed breakfast," she pointed out bluntly.

Neither boy seemed as perturbed or annoyed as she was. They were both completely unbothered; which only bothered Lily more.

She glared at James' back and then went to sit down, then froze when she realized it was Sirius' bed. She scanned the room and then went over to Remus' bed and sat at the foot of it. James watched her with raised eyebrows and then looked at Remus for some sort of explanation.

**What's going on with her?**

"What's wrong?" James went over to her hesitantly and then waited.

_I could have had breakfast with Alice. I could have finished my potions essay yesterday. I could have been upstairs in my room last night finishing that book. I sat up here watching four oafs (well three and Remus) get up, two of which were half naked. And, contrary to some other girls I could mention, I __never__ wanted to see Black in his boxers. I'll have to stay up tonight to get that essay finished and decent enough to get an Acceptable. And then I'll be tired as hell since last night I was up watching the same four oafs (three and Remus) sing and the most idiotic oaf get drunk. I won't get to finish my book because Merlin knows the possibility of finding peace and quiet within the presence of the four oafs (three and Remus)! And now I've missed breakfast completely and it's going to be a lousy day and I'm so freaking tired. But they don't care._

Lily was flushed with anger and James stepped back.

**How does she manage to look even ****prettier**** when she angry?**

Lily put her fingertips to her temples and pressed down.

"Lily?" Remus sat down beside her and put a hand to her forehead gently, "Are you okay? Do you have a headache?"

**She's sick? What? Did she have something last night? Did someone spike the-**

"Don't touch me." Lily sighed. "I need some pumpkin juice, or...some sort of a pick me up."

"Oh," James let out a long breath in relief. "Okay then, let's get breakfast."

"Breakfast is ov-"

Remus cut her off with a short laugh. "Lily, the kitchens never end. We'll just go down and get breakfast there. Don't worry."

"You know where the kitchens are?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

They nodded as Sirius came back into the room with a sullen looking Peter trailing after him.

"Oh my goodness," Lily's jaw dropped at the sight.

Peter's hair was a shockingly bright green and Sirius was wearing a more than triumphant smirk.

**Aw, he could've done better than that.**

_Wow._

"Get dressed," James instructed, trying to hide his laughter. "Meet us in the kitchens.

* * *

"So you don't skip meals? When you're not there you make up for it here?" Lily looked around and the four boys nodded.

"You keep track of us Lily? That's so endearing," James grinned.

"No." Lily rolled her eyes. "But when you're there you make your arrogant presence known. And when you're not there the peace and gratefulness of others is an obvious sign."

"You don't mean that."

"Keep telling yourself that Potter."

Lily buttered her toast contently and then took a sip of her pumpkin juice. A house elf bustled by and smiled at them, "Can Kitz get Mister Potter anything? Mister Black? Mister Pettigrew? Mister Lupin?" in turn, each of them shook their heads. "Miss?"

"No, thank you," Lily declined politely. The elf nodded and continued by. "She knows you all by name?"

"Yeah, that's Kitz," James grinned. "We usually see her here during breakfast."

"You're down here often then?"

"We never skip meals," Peter chirped.

"If anything we have extras," James told her and then bit into a piece of toast.

_And they still stay fit. Well...Peter..._

Lily downed the rest of her pumpkin juice and pushed her crusts aside on her plate. "So any ideas of what we do when we're done here?"

"Prank?"

"Quidditch?"

"Hogs-...something against the rules?"

"Spying?"

"Potions essay?"

"No way."

**A/N: Okay, sorry for the long wait something may have glitched, I'm not sure, but for awhile I wasn't able to post chapters. But there it is and I hope you liked it. Please review, it means tons.**

**Question: I bought a book yesterday and the title has the name of a famous writer in it. Can you name that writer?**

**Until next time.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	6. Brotherly Love

**Here's to 100 reviews hopefully! I will post the names of the reviewers you get me to 100 on the next chapter so be kind, review. =) Now, onwards trusty readers for I have The Marauders shall continue their madness!**

* * *

"So yesterday. It's a blur," Sirius started with a nervous smile at James. "I didn't happen to say anything..."

"Sentimental?" James offered. "Yes. Stupid? Partially. Embarrassing? Possib-"

Sirius shot a look over at Lily who was busy talking with Remus. "Shut up. I mean anything about, you know, monthly trips...secret maps...secrets...in...general?"

"Nah," James shook his head.

"Well, alright." Sirius looked around suspiciously. "What did I say?"

"Nothing terrible. You were...drunk. Very sentimental."

"Very..._sweet_ Black," Lily smiled, wandering over to them.

**How much did she hear?**

Remus shook his head, as if hearing James question, silently saying 'Don't worry'.

**Oh thank Merlin.**

"I am not 'sweet'," Sirius finger quoted.

"Black, if you can't remember, let me remind you. Sirius Black, two o'clock last night, drunk: I would just like to say," Lily slurred, imitating a drunken Sirius, "that my friend James is a good friend. He's like a brother and I love him very, very much."

Sirius' eyes widened, "I didn't."

**Oh this could be fun.**

James made a face, "I wish I could agree."

"Shut up. Don't shit with me Prongs," he warned.

_Ew. How does that even make sense? Who the hell would want to...?_

"I'm not, Padfoot," James smirked slightly.

"Holy crap! Shit Prongs! Shit, shit, shit! I didn't!"

"Padfoot," James held back laughter and turned away from Sirius, "it's okay. Really."

"Who was there?" Sirius demanded.

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, "Um, everyone?"

"Oh-" Sirius let out a string of curses, turning more than a few heads in the busy corridor.

James and Remus both let out a collective howl of laughter. And Sirius' face went red, first from embarrassment then, as slowly realization of what was happening dawned on him, from anger.

His expression was livid. "_Die_...dead. You better go kill yourself now, Prongs." Sirius was speaking through gritted teeth and he raised his tense, shaking hands, poised to throttle.

"Well what's the matter Pads?" James asked 'innocently'.

"You go to the Astronomy Tower _now_," Sirius' eyes narrowed, "and you throw yourself off."

"Why would I do that?" James eyes glinted with humour while he continued to keep a distance from the blazingly angry Sirius.

"Because it will sure as hell hurt less than what I'll do to you."

James stared at Sirius, trying to decide what he'd do.

Remus nudged James' side, "Run."

**Well there's an idea.**

And then James was off; dodging through the throngs of people and then skidding around a corner. Gone from Lily's view.

_Way to be mature guys...boys...__children__._

"Look at them go!" Peter cheered. "_Run_, James, _rrrrun!_"

"Will you boys _ever_ grow up?" Lily question aloud to no one in particular.

Remus chuckled at the idea before turning to her. "They're not this way all the time. Only when comments like that come up. You started it."

"I started what?" Lily asked loudly.

"Never mind," Remus attempted nonchalantly.

"No," Lily demanded, "I started what, exactly?"

"You said Sirius told James- and everyone else- that he loved him."

"And?" Lily prompted. "That _is_ what he said."

"No," Peter contradicted. "He never said the word 'love' at all."

_Well it was definitely something along those lines._

At Lily's annoyed look Remus elaborated. "Blokes don't say 'I love you' to other blokes. And even between a drunken Sirius and James...it's not said."

"So, they're best friends, you all are, you practically walk around like family, and...You don't love each other? Like family?" Lily looked perplexedly at Remus and Peter and Remus shook his head.

Remus shook his head. "No. I mean, we are like family. They're like brothers, and if you compared their blood I think James and Sirius are more than a close match."

"But...?" Lily prodded.

"But guys, they just don't _say_ those things."

Remus pushed his sleeve up to check his watch. Within two seconds there was a loud "What the hell Padfoot?"

"Let's go, Pete," Remus waved Peter in the direction of the shout and they started to make their way down the corridor.

Lily followed behind the two Marauders and as they turned a corner she ran to catch up with them. "Sorry, so guys don't _say_ those things because...?"

"Because, well...I don't know. Because of that." Remus pointed at the scene before him. A large crowd had gathered around who Lily presumed to be James and Sirius from their voices- their faces she couldn't see.

_Oh Merlin, what are they doing now?_

Peter squeaked and swatted his way through the crowd while Remus and Lily went through behind him. As the crowd cleared out a bit they revealed James and Sirius.

_Oh Merlin._

**Aw crap. Way to impress her Prongs, way to impress her.**

James was sopping wet and had a charmed purple Sirius in a headlock whilst kneeling on the ground. James was soaked from head to toe and his glasses were hanging off of his left ear while Sirius had purple hair the colour of an amethyst and his robes the colour of grape soda.

Lily rolled her eyes.

_I feel like I'm on a zoo tour. And here, on your left, is the buffoon exhibit. Notice how both males look moronic in their own special way. Yes, this is how we tell the buffoons apart. Merlin!_

Lily put her hands on her hips and stared the two down. "Get up."

James released Sirius and got to his feet. Sirius stood as well but slipped on the puddle James dripping clothes and hair had created. He fell back on his arse and James laughed.

Lily sighed and pulled out her wand, drying the floor and James.

**Thanks.**

"Uh, what about me?" Sirius waited expectantly for his robes and hair to be changed back.

_I don't think so._

**Ha ha. She likes me better... than Padfoot...but still.**

"Not fair," Sirius crossed his arms, looking perturbed.

_Fine._

Lily pointed her wand at James and waved it swiftly, turning James hair and robes peach.

"Happy?" Lily smiled.

"Was that really necessary?" James asked at the same time Sirius asked, "You couldn't have managed pink?"

"Sorry," Lily apologized sarcastically. "Now _what _are you two doing?"

"Prongssaliar!" Sirius screamed out in a rush.

"Oh calm yourself."

"We were only kidding," Peter supplied.

"Shut it. I haven't forgotten my good morning slap. You want me to return the favour?" Sirius threatened.

Peter seemed to recoil at that a bit and Sirius nodded.

**Quit being such a dimwit. Get over it.**

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment, considering his options. "You consequence," he decided.

"I do not," James retorted. "It's your fault, you gullible, hung-over, Padfoot."

**I'm not consequencing because you're an idiot you believes whatever I tell you.**

_Did no one teach these boys proper grammar?_

"Uh, uh, uh," Sirius sang. "See, here Prongsie. We'll trial after lunch. _Then_ you'll consequence."

_Again with the grammar!_

"Fine," James agreed.

"Does someone want to explain this to me, please?" Lily asked.

"You'll find out later," Remus muttered. "Now is this really necessary?"

"Yes," Sirius said.

"No," James told him. "What if I just say I'm sorry?"

"Too bad." Sirius crossed his arms like a little kid and Remus and Lily sighed in unison

* * *

They gathered in the common room after lunch and Sirius turned to Peter. "Well Pete, you're the bystander you choose the jury."

Peter stood on one of the couches and turned in a full circle until his eyes landed on a pretty girl in the corner talking to friends.

Peter pointed with a faint blush spreading across his cheeks and Remus shook his head.

"A girl as the jury? This won't be pretty."

Sirius laughed. "Alright. The gal it is. Who wants to fetch her?"

"Fetch her?" Lily repeated with disgust. "She's a girl, not a stick."

_Show some respect._

"I'll go," Peter volunteered.

"Err...maybe not Wormtail..." Sirius said, trying to be gentle about it.

**No offense but if we send Pete the chances of her trailing after him and agreeing to this are...slim.**

"Well, neither of us can go," James glanced at the group of girls, "it could result in an unfair advantage or biased opinion."

**We could send Lily...you know, girl power and sticking together and all that...but...does she dislike Pads and I equally?**

"Moony, you go," Sirius directed. "Take Evans with you. You know, if she's needs convincing she's more likely to agree if the convincer is a girl."

Remus looked at Lily for an answer and Lily just let him lead the way. She was sort of curious as to what they were actually doing.

"Okay, let's go."

As they approached the table of girls Lily paused, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be doing to assist their...who knows what they were doing?

Remus stood behind the girl Peter had pointed out and politely waited for her to finish her conversation. The girl stopped mid-sentence when she noticed her friends staring at Remus standing behind her.

She turned, "Yes?" She had dark hair that fell in soft, long curls and tan skin that made her look exotic.

Remus seemed to think out what he was going to say before speaking, "James and Sirius over there," he indicated the two he was talking about, "they were wondering if you could do them a favour and participate in a small trial. As the jury."

"Oh, um, you mean James Potter and Sirius Black?" A round of giggles was shared by the table's occupants.

Lily fought the urge to ask what was wrong with all of them.

_She's a sixth year isn't she? Melanie? Melissa? Marissa? Right. Marissa Rivera. Oh Marissa. Naive and oh-so ignorant Marissa, poor girl doesn't know what she's agreeing to. Then again, neither do I. But at least I can fend for myself._

"Um, sure," Marissa smiled slightly while still looking past Remus at James and Sirius. "When?" she enquired excitedly.

"Now," Remus answered.

"How many of us do you need?" one of the other girls piped hopefully.

"Just her," Remus said. At their looks of disappointment he shrugged helplessly, "Sorry," and then led Marissa and Lily back to the other three. "Alright," he let Marissa pass and stand between him and James and Sirius, "you have your jury where are we doing this?"

"In the corridor," Sirius replied simply.

They all filed out of the portrait hole and into the corridor finding a large empty space off to the side James conjured chairs and set two beside each other-one more like a barstool-a little distance apart, three in front and facing the two about four metres away and then one to the side facing down the corridor as opposed to the others.

Marissa was told to sit in the chair opposite all the others and Lily in the left of the two chairs.

Remus and Peter each took a seat in one of the three chairs facing Lily and then Sirius and James did some sort of handshake ending James hitting Sirius' head and Sirius attempting to hit James. Apparently that meant James won.

James then took the seat to Lily's right and Sirius joined Peter and Remus' row.

James handed Lily a scroll of some sort and gave her the instructions to read aloud the first paragraph.

"Okay." She skimmed over the first line before she began to read. "Good mor-afternoon," she corrected glaring slightly at the assuming script. "This trial has been called for the case of...it's blank," she said staring at the space on the page.

"Right. Sorry," Remus stood. "For the case of Sirius Black. In which Mister James Potter had allegedly lied to Mister Black about Mister Black saying-in his drunken stupor- that he loved Mister Potter. Fellow Marauders do recognize this as being against the code and are therefore here only to decide if there shall be or what shall be Mister James Potter's punishment." Remus spoke tiredly as if he really couldn't care less and was only with them since he knew he couldn't change Sirius' mind and to make sure nothing drastic occurred.

_Why didn't Remus just play...judge?_

The four Marauders stared at Lily.

_What? Oh! Right! The script!_

"Ladies and gentle-sorry," Lily smiled apologetically at Marissa. "Lady of the jury you shall make the final verdict for today's trial after hearing both sides of the story..."

'_If Marauders or Others Involved in the Trial Have Taken Sides'...no...ah 'If Trial is Between Only Two (or each has own argument or one against three) Marauders'_

"and-" _fill in the blank_ "Sirius Black and James Potter will defend themselves. Witnesses may not be biased. They shall only witness."

_Who wrote this script?_

"Potter, you may begin."

"Thank you Judge Evans," James smiled up at her and Lily ignored him.

**Okay then.**

"I would like to begin by just pointing out the fact that I did not once say the word 'love' or that Sirius used the word. I simply agreed with an accident Miss Evans made quoting Pad-Mister Black at last night's karaoke," James said.

Marissa Laughed a bit at that-the memory having been there herself- and James flashed a charming smile her way.

"Also," James continued, now appearing to be speaking directly to Marissa, "he got drunk so it's his fault he couldn't remember the truth. Isn't that right?"

Marissa giggled.

**Hm. Guess she's a fan of mine then. There's an advantage.**

_That's disgusting._

"Potter, I don't think you're allowed to discuss your theories with the jury," Lily said sharply. "Now is that all?"

James nodded and then left his seat to switch with Sirius.

Sirius took his seat and then pulled out a piece of parchment. "I read from the Marauder code. It says here that 'No Marauder shall deceive another Marauder consciously, especially about something they know to mean a great deal to the fellow Marauder'. I believe Prongs has broken that today and should therefore consequence."

James jumped up from his seat, "I..."

"Object?" Remus offered.

"I was getting there," James snapped. "I object!"

"On what terms?" Lily prodded.

"Well for one thing I did not _deceive _him. If that was deceiving are we no longer allowed to pull any pranks, jokes or throw harmless insults at each other ever again? What is the world coming to?" James threw his hands up and Lily shook her head.

"Cut the histrionics," she told him. "Really. Now sit down."

James did as he was told and Sirius went on. "For another matter, you just don't joke about things like that."

"And may I ask why?" Lily enquired.

"Because blokes aren't supposed to say things like that!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's mushy and wrong. It could ruin my reputation." Sirius winked at Marissa and Lily made a face.

_This is getting to be ridiculous._

"Are you denying any sort of brotherly love for Mister Potter?"

"Prongs is my best mate. But you just don't-"

"Right, right, you just don't say things like that," Lily finished for him.

"Listen Evans, even you have noticed that I'm a guy and I have a reputation to uphold," he smirked at Marissa who was staring at James, "and things like that ruin it. No matter how much of a brother to me Prongs is."

Lily was slightly distracted watching the way Marissa was staring at James to fully comprehend any point Sirius was trying to get across.

_Really Marissa, a picture would last longer. Careful, you'll drool._

**When was the last time I consequenced? Whatever. I won't have to. I think Marissa will more than willingly take my side. Wait...but Lily's...I can't do that. She already thinks I'm an 'arrogant git' I can't. But...damn Sirius.**

"Evans?" Sirius prompted.

"Point taken," Lily muttered.

Sirius left the chair and went over to James. "Go ahead mate."

James went up and sat down. "Well?" Lily spoke impatiently. "Do you have anything else to say?"

James sighed and looked at Lily, then at everyone else, then back at Lily. "Yeah. Alright. I'm...guilty. I'll consequence."

"Really?" Everyone but Lily asked in surprise.

Marissa tilted her head in confusion, "I was going to rule you innocent."

**Yeah, I know.**

"Well, then," Sirius clapped his hands, grinning. "We better get moving. It's almost dinner, and you want a _full_ audience don't you Prongs?"

James shot a glare at Sirius, "Shut up. What colour?"

"Well you already did peach today...I was think blue. But not Ravenclaw blue, more like...powder blue. You know, lighter, so everyone can still see who you are."

"Alright. But I'm not getting the paint."

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. But I'd say compared to other chapters it's fairly long. Possibly-hopefully?-that makes up for it. Also I am eally hoping to hit 100 reviews with this chapter so pretty pretty please? **

**Question: what is the theme of my socks today? **


	7. Consequence

**Readers who got me to 100 (and four) thank you! to: ladystalke, muggleborn43, gurugirl, InfectedWithNargles, UndesirableNo.5, isigirl, kat253ox, jjjc (credit for two reviews though I don't know if that counts), Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape, Straight down from Heaven, EmeraldBalletSlippers, bekahra89, Elizabeth Bells, aliben, doctorwhonerd98, the silver hare, ReadrOfBooks, jg1345, and Loslote**

**also thanks for the guitar. You know who you are.**

**So do what you came here for now. Read on. **

* * *

"Padfoot, are you almost done?" James called from the other side of their dormitory. He and Remus sat on the floor playing wizarding chess with Lily sitting on Remus' bed beside them, half her attention going to watching them play, the other half to the book she was reading. Sirius and Peter were on the other side of the room, mixing paint.

"Not yet!" Sirius snapped in frustrated. "Not quite the right colour. Don't rush me. Your embarrassment and humiliation _depends _on this perfection!"

James let out an exasperated sigh. "You like dragging this on, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do," Sirius agreed. Lily lowered her book long enough to see Sirius leaning over his paint bucket with his wand pointed down at it.

_What insane thing is he doing?_

"Knight to E5," Remus said clearly, then watched the knight move forward and destroy James' bishop.

James groaned, "Damn chess." He turned away from the board and sat back against Remus' nightstand.

"It's too...pale, Pete," Sirius complained. "It needs to be brighter, for everyone to see."

**Of course. Everyone should see me in all my glory. Just grand. **

James absentmindedly began playing with the frayed ends of Lily's jeans. He twirled one of the longer threads on his finger.

_What is tha-?_

Lily looked down to see James fingering the loose threads of her worn out and faded jeans. She kicked his hand away, not hard just enough to nudge his hand back to himself.

**Aw shit. And here comes the hit.**

James expected a sharp slap from the redhead but instead Lily just raised an eyebrow at him and shot a quick look at his hand, as if to point out what he had been doing.

Sirius dipped a finger in the paint and held it up so Remus, James and Lily could see it across the room. "Well?" he prompted.

_Well, he certainly achieved bright._

**Oh Merlin. **

"Um," Lily considered, "it's very...bright...very blue."

Sirius nodded. "Okay, let's go Prongsie. Get you ready for your big debut."

"Oh like Hogwarts doesn't already know who I am," James said.

"Not this well they don't.

* * *

Sirius placed the bucket of what ended up being closer to an electric blue paint on the floor of the corridor.

"Maybe we should do this in the loo," Remus suggested.

Peter was quick to agree and James nodded tiredly.

Sirius picked the bucket of paint back up and headed towards the boys' restroom. Lily followed the four of them up to the door and then stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. The four Marauders filed into the loo and James ducked back out to tilt his head at Lily in question. "You coming?"

"No," Lily gave him a look that clearly called him stupid. "If you haven't yet realized, Potter, I'm a girl."

**Oh I've noticed. Really, I've noticed.**

"And this," Lily continued, "this happens to be the _boys'_ loo. Where you belong. Not me."

**Oh.**

_And there we go, he gets it now._

James ducked back into the loo and looked around. "Lily, there's no one in here but us. It's safe, come on in."

_I don't think so._

**What's she afraid of?**

Lily shook her head no and he laughed. "Aw Lily, do you have a phobia of the men's loo?"

"You use it, don't you? I'd hardly call it the _men's_ loo."

James reached over and, before Lily could react, grabbed her hand a forcibly pulled her into the washroom. "See?" he chuckled. "Nothing to be afraid of. Just like the girls."

_Really? Because I don't recall ever going standing up._

"Except for the urinals," James added.

"And how would you know?" Lily questioned.

James ignored the question and instead turned to Sirius, Remus and Peter.

_I can't believe I'm standing in the boys' loo. Although, I guess it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Definitely cleaner than I would have predicted._

"Everything but your second pants, Prongs," Sirius instructed. James handed his glasses over to Remus and Remus put them in his pocket.

**Merlin, maybe I shouldn't have dragged Lily in here. Then again...**

James nodded and shamelessly pulled his long-sleeved shirt over his head and tossed it onto one of the sinks. And for the second time that day Lily had a full view of James' bare chest.

_Quit staring. You have better control than that. Ignore him._

James shot a smirk in Lily's direction then went on to drop his jeans and step out of them, unceremoniously tossing them next to his shirt.

Lily immediately averted her gaze.

_Please tell me that's the end. Please tell me that's it. Please-_

"Wow," Sirius commented, "blush much, Evans? Don't worry; he's keeping his second pants on."

_Second pants? Jeez Black a clearer warning the first time could have saved me a panic attack. Just call them boxers!_

**I wasn't going to moon anyone.**

Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the bucket of paint, levitating it until it hovered above James' head. That was when he flicked his wand and the bucket tipped over, dousing James with the blue paint.

James glanced in the mirror then glared at Sirius. "Really Pads?"

"You're right." Sirius sighed then let out a bark of laughter. "No one will recognize you like that." He used his wand and spread the paint away from James face so it was only tinted blue, then made sure the rest of him was mostly covered in the paint before grinning. "Much better."

"Dinner started exactly twenty minutes ago," Peter informed the group. "The Great Hall should be filled."

**Don't have to sound so happy about it.**

"Let's go, Prongsie," Sirius ushered him out the door- not touching him of course- and into the corridor towards the Great Hall.

Lily grabbed James clothes off the sink on her way out; since it seemed that everyone else had forgotten about them.

She watched James walk towards the Great Hall, clad in only his boxers and socks. She couldn't help it. She just stared and watched the toned muscles of his back move as he rolled his shoulders back and shrugged as if preparing himself. He had a body like a rock. Solid and firm yet not over-built.

_Cut it __out__ Lily. That's just your hormones talking._

Remus and peter pushed open the doors to the Great Hall while James stood off to the side, out of sight.

**You have about forty-five seconds to get in and get out. Maybe grab a goblet of pumpkin juice. Either way, run in, announce, greet, and leave. Bolt the hell outta there.**

James ginned, ran a hand through his hair, then sprinted straight into the hall. "I am James Potter..." James began loudly, "and..." he watched as McGonagall stood up looking appalled. "And I just came to say, how you doing tonight?"

He ran up to the professors table and gave a short bow, "Good evening Professors," grinned, and then ran out, fast, to the applause of everyone in the Great Hall (excusing the teachers) and the cheering and compliments of the female population of students.

"Mister Potter," McGonagall called after him. "Mister Potter!"

Lily's eyes widened as James came running out of the hall and Remus and Peter shut the doors behind him. James just kept running and headed around the corner and up the staircase. When he reached the first floor he paused and put his hands on his knees, slouching down to sit on the floor.

Remus, Sirius, Peter and Lily took their time going up the staircase and then sitting around James.

"Brilliant, Prongs," Sirius acknowledged. "Although...how are you doing tonight? That the best you could come up with?"

James was panting, "Did you hear McGonagall...calling after me?...I didn't really have time...to be more...brilliant." He looked at Lily. "You mind charming this paint off?"

"Uh, sure." Lily pulled out her wand and waved it in the direction of James, from head to toe. He was still tinged blue, but not enough to rub off on anything else. "Cleaning spells certainly don't work as well as an actual shower."

James shrugged, "It'll do for now, thanks."

Lily nodded her acknowledgement. And look behind her nonchalantly, away from James nearly completely bare body.

_Oh, right, his clothes. That would solve the problem._

She grabbed his jeans and shirt from behind her and handed them to James.

"Thanks."

He pulled on his jeans and tugged his shirt over his head. Lily sighed. Then they heard it.

"Mister Potter?" McGonagall called. "I suggest you get yourself decent and come back here _now_ to receive your punishment, for otherwise I assure you it will be much, _much_ worse when I find you."

**For all she knows I'm back in Gryffindor common room by now.**

"And don't think I don't know you can hear me Potter," McGonagall added.

James' head dropped at that. He stood up and descended the staircase. He only had to go a little ways before he met the Head of Gryffindor. "Good evening Professor McGonagall," he greeted.

"I believe you've already wished me one Mister Potter," she said.

James hid any bit of anxiety he was feeling as he responded with a grin, "Just personalizing it Professor."

"Mister Potter, I do believe you know why I've called you back."

"Well," James put on a look of innocent thoughtfulness. "I'm not sure Professor. But I'm sure you'll tell me. Enlighten me, Professor?"

McGonagall's lips tightened into a straight line. "Mister Potter, you went streaking through the Great Hall covered in blue paint only a moment ago."

"Is it streaking if I'm wearing my knickers Professor?" James asked.

McGonagall was taken aback by his enquiry. Then she shook her head, "It doesn't matter Mister Potter. You have a detention tomorrow. You can report to my office after dinner."

"Alright. But I have patrols at starting at eight o'clock," James told her.

"I don't- I forgot you were Head Boy."

**Heh. I don't understand why I was made Head Boy either.**

"Well, then you can serve your detention first thing in the morning."

**After breakfast?**

"You'll have to skip breakfast or get something quick."

"No breakfast?" James asked incredulously. "I'm seventeen! I need food. I need breakfast! Haven't you ever heard it's the most important meal of the day?"

"Mister Potter, I am quite aware of that. And maybe next time you will think twice before doing whatever little dare or bet you have with your friends," McGonagall advised.

**No breakfast. Is she allowed to do that? And I do think twice. Usually. But there wasn't really another option here. **

"Just out of curiosity Professor, what rule did I break exactly?"

After a moment of silence McGonagall came up with an answer. "You didn't exactly follow the dress code Mister Potter." James could have sworn she was hiding a smile. "Tomorrow morning, before breakfast," she reminded. And then she left.

Remus, Sirius, Peter and Lily came down the staircase and went over to James.

"First thing in the morning?" Sirius quoted the professor. "Tough, mate."

"Yeah," James agreed. "No breakfast."

_Well he could always grab a piece of toast before he goes._

"I can't believe she gave you a detention," Peter squeaked.

"Why?" Lily asked. "He ran through the Great Hall in his boxers."

"You want Pete to get a detention, keep you company?" Sirius offered.

"Hey! Speak for yourself," Peter protested.

"I was only kidding," Sirius consoled, fixing his hair. He turned to James and lowered his voice, "But really, you want me to get him in trouble t-"

"No," James declined.

"I could land myself a detention too. Or, actually, I might already have one...either way no one will question me showing up. In fact, they'd be glad."

_Black is the one who got him into this._

James shook his head, laughing.

"Alright then, I offered." Sirius shrugged. "To dinner?"

_I should go back to the common room. I still have that potions essay due tomorrow...it's going to take at least a couple of hours. And then maybe I'll finally get around to finishing that book...except they're seventeen year old boys and in the words of James Potter 'they need food'. Suppose it will have to wait until after dinner, or whatever else they plan on doing. Guess I'll just have to go for an acceptable. What if it slips to a poor? I can just see Professor Slughorn shaking his head in dismay._

James watched as Lily looked longingly away from the Great Hall.

**What is it she wants to do? **

"You guys go ahead," James said, still looking at Lily. "I'm, uh, feeling a little blue," he joked, referring to his tinged skin. "I'm thinking I'll grab a sandwich or something from the kitchens and then head to the common room."

Sirius nodded, "Alright. Later then."

"Well, Lilyflower, if we're splitting you have a choice: dinner with those Marauders, or alone time with me?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

_Maybe he'll let me work on my essay. Oh Merlin. Since when does James Potter have to give me permission to do my own work?_

Lily scowled at having to agree to the latter option despite the way he phrased it. "I'll go with you."

* * *

After stopping by the kitchens to grab sandwiches James and Lily went up to Gryffindor tower and ate in the common room.

"So what are we doing?" Lily asked hesitantly.

James smirked, "Are you suggesting something?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter Potter," Lily snapped. "You know what I meant."

"Well I plan on trying to wash the remains of the paint off of me." James couldn't help what he said next. "Of course you have a full invitation to join me if you'd like-" Lily slapped his arm. Hard. "Like I've said," James mumbled, "stronger than she looks." He rubbed the spot where she'd hit him and then continued, "_But_ _if you don't want to_, you can do whatever you'd like while I'm showering."

Lily immediately went up to her dormitory to get her essay.

**Well that's fine. She's probably not even coming back. **

Lily grabbed her essay and glanced quickly into a mirror and pulled her fingers through her hair quickly before going back down to the common room, essay and potions book in hand.

James was already heading up the boys' staircase, having figured she wasn't coming back down, when she reached the couches.

"Thanks," she said with a slight smile to his back.

He turned and gave her a lopsided grin, "Welcome," before jogging up the rest of the stairs.

Lily opened her book and began to work.

_Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. The effects of the potion are instantaneous and the drinker will immediately become infatuated and obsessed..._

She was off to a good start and had filled ten inches of parchment when Remus, Sirius and Peter came in.

"Hey Evans," Sirius nodded at her. "Where's Prongs?"

"Showering," she answered distractedly.

"Oh, well there's going to be a...gathering in Ravenclaw tower. We're going to go turn it into a party," Sirius proclaimed.

When there was no reaction from Lily Remus said, "Dinner's over in about ten minutes, shouldn't have to worry about getting caught going."

"Right," Sirius cut in, "so if you see him before we do, tell him we're taking the in-the bag of apples for later."

_What the-what are they? Horses?_

Lily looked up, confused. "What bag of app- you know what? I don't want to know. Sure, I'll tell him."

Sirius shrugged and then went up the boys' staircase, coming back down in less than a minute.

"Bye," Peter waved at Lily as the three headed out the portrait hole.

Lily went back to her essay.

_Amortentia does not create any sort of true or real love between the drinker and the person who administrates the potion. It..._

James came down the boys' staircase to see Lily sitting with her back against the couch and her legs stretched out towards the fire, her books and parchment in her lap.

**Of course she's working. Oh well. I can end that any time I want now.**

"What're you working on?" he asked as he jumped and landed comfortably on his back on the couch. His head was above Lily's on the arm rest, her fiery red hair splayed out on the couch above her and right by his torso. His hands were clasped behind his head; and good thing too, he knew, since if they weren't his hands would be buried and tangled in her hair and either she wouldn't be on the floor or he wouldn't be on the couch.

Lily gave him an odd look, "Potions essay."

"What about?"

She twisted her head around-making about half of her hair slide of the couch-so she could see him and her eyebrows drew together in question. "The same and only essay we were all assigned this weekend. The one on Amortentia."

"Oh, that was probably what Remus was working on last night then," James made a 'hm' sound in thought.

"Last night? After karaoke? That ended this morning! How does he manage?" Lily asked aloud. "Better yet, how do _you _manage? How in the world did you get Head Boy?"

"No idea," James answered. "I chalked it up to Dumbledore having a really odd sense of humour."

_Possible._

Lily lifted her hair up and pulled it away from her face, letting it all fall back on the couch. "Well, why'd you accept it?"

"My parents were really proud," James said. "I couldn't refuse it when they found out. There was no way. And...I guess it was a little more than encouraging finding out you were Head Girl."

"But..." Lily set her potions book aside, "you seemed surprised on the train when you found out."

James ran a hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. "What can I say? I like acting. Fairly good at it too."

Lily scribbled down another sentence before remembering. "Oh! Remus, Sirius, and Peter came in a little while ago. They said something about a party in the Ravenclaw Tower. And they were taking a bag of apples with them for...something or another."

"You were already working?" James guessed. Lily nodded.

**Bag of apples...right the code for the invisibility cloak. Never had to use it before.**

"Okay." James leaned down to look at her, "Did you want to go?"

"I wanted to finish this essay but I guess I don't really have a choice do I?"

"It's due tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll stay here," James told her.

_Really?_

Lily voiced her thought and James nodded though she was no longer look at him. "Yeah. On one condition: you answer every question I ask you."

_I can always lie, can't I?_

"Sure."

A/N: Alright and here's chapter seven. Again, I'm so grateful to everyone who eviewed last chapter. Hooray to 100!

Question: what's my favourite musical?

I don't want your reviews. Not today. Not ever. 

And that, that my dear readers is reverse p sychology. So you know what to do. (The button is below this text hinthint).

Anyways,

Scarlett


	8. Questions

Lily tried to focus on her essay.

_Amortentia is a very dangerous potion as well as complicated since..._

"What's your favourite colour?" James asked.

Lily looked surprised; she hadn't exactly been expecting something so innocent. "My favourite colour is purple. It's the farthest colour from any colour on me."

"What?"

"You know. Red hair, green eyes. Like Christmas attacked my genetics, they clash. Purple, purple isn't like red or green, it's my favourite," Lily explained.

**Purple. **

"I like your red hair," James touched a red lock lightly.

**So soft.**

So lightly that Lily could barely feel it. She shook her head slightly and picked her quill back up. James retracted his hand and listened to Lily's quill scratch against the parchment.

As soon as he heard a pause in her writing he spoke. "What's your favourite food?"

"In the wizarding world or in general?" Lily questioned back distractedly.

"In general," James clarified.

"Chocolate mousse. When I was younger Petunia and I used to sit at the kitchen counter together when parents were out and we'd eat chocolate mousse. A whole lot of it too," Lily laughed at the memory. "We're...we're not very close now, actually not since I came here, to Hogwarts, so I suppose it's more for nostalgia's sake, but yes, chocolate mousse."

James smiled, but Lily had already returned her attention to her essay, quickly writing out another paragraph.

**Chocolate mousse from childhood memories. Cute. **

"These questions last the entire night then," James decided. "Since we're not going to the party and Sirius is going to brag and exaggerate every little detail when he comes back."

Lily looked up from her parchment, "Not fair. Do you do this with your mates regularly?"

"No," James answered honestly. "But that's because I already know everything about them." This was also honest. Though, it wasn't the real reason. She had no idea where he was going to take this game. Neither did he. "Plus, I've been hanging out with them since first year. I've got a week to catch up with you."

Lily sighed, not seeing the point in arguing. "Fine. But I get five questions. For you to answer." James nodded.

**Fair enough. It's an opportunity.**

"Good. Then continue."

"Who do you tell everything to?"

"Nobody."

**What? What about Prewett?**

"Prewett?" James suggested.

Lily put down her quill.

_Am I ever going to finish this?_

"Alice is my best friend," Lily said carefully. "I tell her a lot. But I can't honestly say I've told anyone _everything_. I...strongly believe in the whole if you want it to stay a secret don't tell a soul."

"That's a saying?" James asked.

"No. But it seems to get the point across. " Lily responded. She started another paragraph while James contemplated what to ask her next.

"Don't tell Alice," Lily mumbled, but James knew he was supposed to hear it. "I tell her most things. But...she might take it the wrong way. Besides it's just the little things. Everyone keeps some things to themselves."

James mimed zipping his lips, "I won't say a word."

_Amortentia doesn't have a certain scent to it. The potion has different scent to each person, smelling like whatever they love most, trying to attract the drinker..._

**I guess they are some things you just can't say out loud. It seems like it no longer makes sense once the words leave your mouth. **

"What's your favourite thing?"

Lily finished her paragraph before she considered what he had asked.

_What's my favourite thing? Thing being...?_

"Can you elaborate on that?" Lily requested.

"Er...I don't know. What's your favourite thing?" he repeated, which was by no means any help to Lily.

"So, in general?"

"Uh-huh, in the entire world," James said.

_I don't know..._

"I like a lot of things..." Lily tilted her head back to rest it on the couch, the top of her head just barely touching James' hip. "I'm not sure what you're asking."

"Well, like how I like flying." James closed his eyes. "I like the feeling of cutting through the air. Free and above everything. Nothing pulling me down."

"Hmm," Lily hummed.

_I have to admit, flying yesterday was great. The feeling of...weightlessness. _

"It makes you feel...lighter somehow. You know?"

"Weightless," Lily supplied automatically. "It makes you feel like everything's been lifted."

"Exactly!" James eyes shot open and he sat up excitedly. Lily felt his movement by her head and immediately sat up as well. "Sorry," James apologized.

"It's okay," Lily muttered.

"So...your favourite thing in the world?" James reminded.

"I like reading, as terribly boring as that sounds. Everything gets lost and I get absorbed into the book. I like reading," Lily glanced back at him with a small smile. "Do you think you could give me five minutes to finish this essay and then we can continue this?"

James looked at her essay. She had filled a foot and a few inches of parchment and seemed close enough to being finished. "Alright," he agreed.

There was a moment of silence between them, just the sound of Lily's quill scratching away at the parchment, every once in a while dipping into her ink well with a quiet '_kip_' as she tapped it against the well so it wouldn't drip.

Lily ended her essay a few minutes later, signed her name at the top with a flourish, and then set the parchment and her book aside, stacking them neatly.

"Done?" James enquired, even though she clearly was, in his mind though it couldn't hurt to check, it could hurt not to.

"Yes," Lily nodded and sighed. "Proceed."

"What's your favourite season?"

"Spring," Lily answered certainly. "I love rain, especially those downpours. Like when you can't even see out the window, you just hear the water pounding and the glass becomes a blur. It's perfect for walking."

"For walking?" James raised an eyebrow and Lily shrugged.

"It's nice. You step outside and within seconds you're drenched. By then you can't get any more soaked. So you enjoy it."

James seemed to like her answer as he grinned. "If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?"

"A playground," Lily said after a pause. "I really feel like swinging."

James laughed. They continued this game for awhile. James asking questions about everything and anything. Her favourite subject, her muggle friends, the biggest differences she saw between muggles and wizards, if she had to repopulate the Earth who would she choose as her partner (James was shocked and slightly insulted at her joking answer of Black), if she had a hobby, and what song she always hummed during potions.

"Wait what?"

_He noticed that?_

James repeated himself, "What's that song you always hum when we do potions?"

"I don't-"

"Yes you do," James interrupted. "So what is it?"

"I don't hum," Lily protested.

"Alright...what song do you sing under your breath?"

"I...Da Doo Ron Ron," Lily whispered sheepishly.

**Da what?**

"Pardon?"

"_Da Doo Ron Ron_," she enunciated clearly. "By Shaun Cassidy. Muggle song." At James blank look she searched her brain for some of the lyrics.

_Yes, he looked so fine. Yes, I'll make him mine_

"_And when he walked me home da doo ron ron ron da doo ron ron._" Lily sang it as if she was trying not sing as much as talk the lyrics but a few clear notes came out anyway.

"Never heard of it," James shrugged a bit.

"Right. Pureblood," Lily pushed his shoulder teasingly.

James laughed a little. "Right. But why is it always potions? That you hum during I mean."

Lily looked down and shook her head at herself before turning back to James. "Well, to pass the time. I mean I stand there stirring for nearly half the class most days. It's ridiculous. It passes time and keeps me feeling a like I have a little more energy than the dead."

"Lily Evans." James mocked astonishment. "Are you calling class _boring_?"

"Why yes, yes I am."

And the questions kept coming. Lily almost liked sitting there, warmed by the fire and smiling to herself after each question. Dare she say it; she was almost enjoying James Potter's company. Until he pushed a little too far that is.

"Okay then...how many blokes have you dated?"

_What? Oh my...after... Merlin! Really? Grow up, Potter._

"Five," she replied tersely.

**Five?**

"Really?"

"Yes Potter, really. Three of which I kept a secret from pretty much everyone but Alice and him." Lily's voice lowered to an angry mutter of a rant. "Thanks to you and your scare tactics. Five blokes. And no of those lasted more than a month. Barely made it a week with Brian...I can't believe you'd even ask such a..."

**Five? **

Lily took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A few minutes prior to James' idiotic question she was getting comfortable, enjoying talking to him even. Now she had more than an urge to slap him.

**She's upset. Man Prongs! What is wrong with you?...Five? Why won't you date me? This isn't a time to...James pay attention. The real problem at hand here isn't that you let a couple of blokes slip your attention and they dated Lily. The real problem is that you got her pissed at you. Look at her. Pissed. **

"Sorry." James shook his head. "I shouldn't have asked. You want to use one of your five questions?"

"Yeah." Lily still sounded upset, but not as angry or as loud as before. "Just how many girls have you dated?"

James froze.

**Well? Answer her Prongs! Third year...Mer...Mel...Mir...anda? Merissa? Merissa. And the Hufflepuff...seven...fourth year...ten...that's seventeen...fifth year...eight...twenty-five...sixth year...four, that's twenty-nine. You could lie...no. Not to Lily.**

"Twenty-nine," James admitted.

"Right." Lily gave him a cold look. "And I bet you haven't counted hook-ups. But, never mind, I shouldn't have asked," she stated bluntly, quoting him.

James sighed. Not sure what to say. "...You probably don't care...but I didn't count hook-ups. And I've only ever hooked-up twice."

_Well...that wouldn't have been my guess. _

"What's your perfect day?" James questioned slowly.

"A day with neither seeing nor being bothered by you, Potter."

James chuckled, a low rumble, making his chest vibrate.

"Really. Now mine would be the exact opposite with you. Maybe you'd even smile at me," he grinned a little to himself and Lily shook her head.

"Perfection's hard to come by, you know."

**Yeah, trust me, I know.**

James poked Lily's shoulder lightly and she turned around, narrowing her eyes warningly. "You have three questions left Potter. Then I don't care, you can drag me to that party or we can sit here in silence. But don't ask another freaking _ass_ question."

**It's really is remarkable how she can make a statement like that sound so innocent.**

James let a lopsided grin tug at his lips. "Am I more of a prick than Sirius?"

_Are guys supposed to call their best mates pricks?_

"Generally? No. To me? A little. But I think you should have realized that by now," Lily told him.

"Fair enough. Have I changed at all from your first impression of me?" James looked hopefully and Lily had to look away to consider her answer carefully.

_First impression of James Potter? Arrogant, rude, mean, intolerable. But...considering the last couple hours-excluding that one little moment of complete and utter stupidity on his part- he seemed...decent. _

"Yes."

_But sometimes I think there was so much to change in the first place that the progress doesn't mean that much anyway..._

"Here's a question." She slid a red lock of hair between her fingers, watching it stretch out and then curl back to its' original state. "Do you think you've changed?"

James let out a sigh. "Yeah, I do. But I don't think you're giving me any opportunity to show you. That. And maybe I've screwed up a couple opportunities."

_Like this?_

**Like this.**

"Last question. Lily Evans, do you believe in second chances?"

"Maybe."

**_A/N: I guess this chapter is really short in comparison to the last. Maybe making that one longer wasn't such a good idea after all..._**

**_Well I hope you enjoyed reading this anyway. I just want to thank those who reviewed last chapter and hopefully this one as well. I honestly will say those we the best reviews I've ever gotten for a chapter, helpful and encouraging. More than just 'I liked this. Update soon.' A review that says this is awful and points out why is better than an update soon (while those are also encouraging though, don't get me wrong)._**

**_So thanks._**

**_Question: what is my favourite band? and are there any questions you would like tosee either James or Lily answer or ask each other?_**

**_Anyways,_**

**_Scarlett_**


	9. Sick and Morning 2

It was at half past ten when Remus and Peter entered the common room. Remus looked slightly exhausted while Peter looked giddy, grinning wide and stumbling behind Remus.

Lily looked at James, "Is…is Peter okay?"

**Peter? Oh. **

"Nah, he's fine. Remus never lets him get any more than tipsy. Pete doesn't hold his liquor too well anyway though," James gave Peter a wary look before shrugging.

**He'll sleep it off.**

"Where's Black?" Lily asked.

Remus, who at this point was trying to guide and stabilize Peter as he tried to make his way up the boys' staircase, answered her. "Uh…somewhere with a girl…probably a closet. Who knows?"

_Merlin, does he have no morals? Better yet does she?_

Remus finally got tired of having Peter bump into him, pushing him into the wall, and instead grabbed Peter's arm and put it around his own shoulders, practically hauling Peter up the stairs. "Eh, Prongs? A little a help?"

James got up off the couch and jogged over to the staircase. James stood behind Remus and Peter and tried to support Peter's back and take some of Peter's weight off Remus.

**Did he pass out? …way past tipsy here Pete.**

"Moony, tell me, is he conscious?"

"Nope," Remus sounded annoyed yet amused at the same time.

_Do I just stay here or…?_

Lily went stood and immediately cringed. Her foot was asleep. It felt like she had a wooden block for a foot. She went to step forward but nearly twisted her ankle since she couldn't feel a thing. Her whole foot just felt heavy and nerveless.

_Alright, maybe I better just stay here. Not like they need me up there anyway._

She fell back into the couch and relaxed.

"Lily?" James called from the top of the staircase. He sounded a little afraid and Lily sighed. She stood back up and dragged her log of a foot to the staircase. She had made it up only a few stairs when the feeling started to return to her foot. She lifted her foot to try and get the blood flowing through it again when she lost her balance and fell over, letting out a small yelp.

James dashed out of the dormitory and ran to the top of the staircase. "Lily?" She didn't didn't look like she was in pain, just sitting on the stairs. James tilted his head in confusion. "What happened?"

"My foot's asleep, I fell," she told him. She put her ankle on her knee and hit her foot a few times in attempt to 'wake it up'. After flexing her toes a couple times she stood up and continued the rest of the way to the top of the staircase. "What's going on?"

"Pete…well he vomited," James said with a look of disgust.

_And…you want me to…?_

James just turned around and walked back to the boys' dormitory, Lily following behind him uncertainly.

They went into the bathroom where Peter was kneeling on the ground, a mess of vomit in front of the sink.

_Couldn't aim in the sink? Or maybe the toilet? …This is the second boys' bathroom in one day. I really never planned on entering any._

Lily turned and realized both Remus and James had slipped behind her, watching to see how she was going to handle the mess of Peter.

"Well why do I have to do something about it?" Lily asked helplessly.

"You're a girl…you're all supposed to know how to handle this sort of thing," James replied, sounding desperate.

"Excuse me?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I have to clean this…_him_ up because I'm a _girl_?"

Remus shook his head, "Wrong move Prongs. Take it back. Take it back. _Take it back_," he urged.

"Sorry," James apologized hurriedly. "Just…please?"

Lily crossed her arms, and then sighed in defeat. She pulled out her wand and waved it at what Peter had already spewed out on the floor. It was cleaned up instantly and Lily turned to Peter.

Her face scrunched up at the pungent smell of vomit that still hung in the air and she bit her tongue to keep from gagging. "Move over there," she pointed at the toilet. "If you feel you're going to vomit again, aim in there please. I'll be back in a second."

Lily went back into the boys' dormitory and poured a goblet of water, taking it back into the washroom for Peter.

"Drink," she instructed. Peter shook his head. "It's water, drink."

Peter took the goblet and took a few sips. He seemed to relax a bit as he drank the rest. "How are you feeling?" Lily questioned slowly and waited for Peter's response.

"Sick," Peter whispered. He turned and retched into the toilet. Lily backed away and then handed the now empty goblet to James.

**Gross.**

_Ew._

"Go refill this. And bring his pyjamas and a towel as well."

James nodded and left the room. Remus left as well to help him.

Remus came back with Peter's pyjamas on one arm and a towel in the other, while James came with both a filled goblet of water and the entire jug just in case.

Lily took the goblet from James and handed it to Peter. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and then drank a good half of the goblet before flushing the toilet. Lily put a large corner of the towel under the tap of the sink and turned the faucet on. The towel absorbed the water and the seeped and spread throughout the fabric. Lily wrung it out and then handed it to Peter. "Press that against your forehead for a minute, then change and go sit in bed. When your stomach settles you can lie down," she spoke clearly and slowly, letting Peter comprehend what she was instructing. "Keep a rubbish bin or something beside your bed okay? In case you feel sick again."

Peter nodded, "Thanks."

"You two keep an eye on him; just make sure he doesn't pass out." And James and Remus' confused look she explained. "If he just falls over, he's passed out. If he lies down first, he's trying to fall asleep."

_Do you understand…?_

**Oh. Okay.**

They nodded.

"And maybe next time, you know your limits," Lily said pointedly at Peter, "and watch out for your mates?" Lily suggested to Remus and James.

"In my defense," Remus stepped forward, "I wasn't the one who let him get…like this," he gestured. "He was with Sirius."

_Nice going Black. Last night it was you…now Peter…how often do you boys get drunk?_

"Well where _is _Black?"

"He's off with-"

"Hey mates."

James and Remus both turned to face Sirius with the glares.

Sirius froze. "What'd I do?"

_Nothing. That's the problem here._

James nodded his head in Peter's direction.

"Oh. Yeah, Pete, you're not looking so good," Sirius commented, going over to his trunk and picking up a pair of plaid pyjama pants.

"He's sick," Lily informed Sirius. "Because he drank too much. And funnily enough, Remus wasn't there with him because…Peter was with you. And where were you in all of this?"

**Not with Peter.**

_Come on Black…think real hard…never mind. Don't hurt yourself._

"Wow Evans, way to be a mother," Sirius joked, seeming unbothered.

"You left one of your best mates to go off with a girl. Isn't that against some kind of code you must have?" Lily questioned.

"Wormtail seemed fine when I left him. And it's not like I poured the liquor down his throat," Sirius defended.

**True.**

"What were you drinking anyway?" Remus asked curiously.

Peter looked down at his hands. "Pink…" he mumbled.

_What?_

"What?" James leaned forward a bit in attempt to hear.

"Popping Pink Butterbeer."

Lily put her hand on her forehead, shaking her head. "You drank what?"

"Popping Pink Butterbeer. It…it tastes like Butterbeer, but it's pink and as you swallow it kind of cracks and pops."

_Idiot. _

**Jeez Peter.**

"No wonder you got sick. Butterbeer isn't supposed to 'crack and pop' you fool! Let alone be pink! What the hell were you thinking if anything at all?" Lily yelled.

"Calm down Evans, he'll be alright," Sirius assured.

Peter shrunk back as far as he could in his bed, then sank down farther under the covers.

"You don't know what was in that drink. What made it 'crack and pop'?"

"I don't know," Peter groaned. "But the girl with the Butterbeer…"

Lily threw her hands up, "Well that it explains it. What guy will do…you're such idiots."

Peter's head dropped forward sadly.

"Peter," Lily inhaled deeply and let it out tiredly, "don't ever take drinks that are oddly coloured and/or exploding in your esophagus."

"Esoph what?"

"Your throat Peter, your throat," Lily clarified. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Peter shrugged. "A little dizzy, tired, but fine otherwise."

"Go to sleep Peter," Lily instructed firmly.

Peter sighed and nodded, sinking down the rest of the way to lie down on his back. He pulled the covers up to his chin and rolled over.

_Out like a light._

"And you," Lily looked exasperated as she spoke to the three other occupants of room, "do you all take turns getting intoxicated?"

**Not really.** **Remus rarely ever drinks at all…**

"Whatever. One of the Marauders is out, I can go then, yes?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Technically no," Remus replied. "I think we decided on James as the dependant Marauder but…" he looked at James to continue.

"We're going to bed anyways," James said, "go ahead."

_Finally. _

"Great. Goodnight."

* * *

"_Come on Lily," James coaxes, pulling me closer slowly. My arms seem to snake their way around his waist against my own will. And then he takes my hand and we're no longer in the common room, we're by the Black Lake, standing under the Beech tree. And then he's playing with my hair and I look up at hi-_

"Lily, wake up," Alice sang.

Lily shook her head and pulled the covers over her head, already snapped out of her dream.

_So weird…it's okay, twenty minutes from now you won't remember a bit of it._

Alice shook Lily's shoulder gently, "Come on Lily, it's Monday…I think the Marauders are waiting for you…"

"No they're not," Lily mumbled into her pillow. "Let me sleep."

_I've dealt with enough. Let me sleep…let me sleep._

"It's eight o'clock. And the whole tower has been listening to Black complain for the past half hour. If not for you or for them, please, for the rest of us," Alice laughed.

Lily shook her head, "Tell them to wait another five minutes. Just five more minutes…"

"Well…alright."

_Ah…she's gone. Lovely._

"I will _not_ wait another five minutes! Evans you come down here now! Evans!"

_Leave me alone Black._

"Black, you can't go up there-" Alice protested.

"Oh yes I can. Just watch me! Evans!"

_Thank Merlin for charmed staircases…_

**No Sirius, don't….oh Merlin.**

"Lily, Black said-"

"Get up!" Sirius barked.

_What the hell?_

Lily opened her eyes a little and rolled over, squinting from the sunlight pouring into the room, she saw one enraged Sirius Black glaring down at her.

Lily hid under the covers. "Alice! Get him out! Get him _out_!"

"Get out Black," Alice flatly.

_Loads of help you are Alice. Thanks._

"Padfoot!" James called, entering the room himself. "You can't just- oh, hey, good morning Lily."

_Bloody contradiction that is. How the hell did you get in here?_

Alice seemed to be thinking the same thing Lily was when she asked, "How'd you guys even get up here?"

"Easy. You just need to step on the-"

Sirius hit James from the side, "Don't tell them! What if they tell Dumbledore and he fixes it? Huh? Then what Prongs?"

**Oh.**

"We experimented over Christmas Hols one year when we stayed back," James explained.

"Get out!" Lily screamed. Except her voice was still rough and groggy from sleep and cracked halfway through her exclamation, making it less effective.

James pushed Sirius towards the door. "You've got about five minutes before we're going to have to let him bolt back up here," James warned.

Lily grumbled some sort of response as James and Sirius left the room.

"Well that's attractive," Alice joked dryly. "Maybe you should get ready."

"Fine."

Lily got out her school robes and then went into the washroom to freshen up before getting changed. Just as she was about to undress she glanced at the door warily.

She put an extra locking charm on it, just in case Sirius decided to come back early she'd hear him coming at least, and then she got ready.

Five minutes later she was in the common room ready to head down to breakfast with James, Remus, Sirius, Peter and Alice.

"Good morning Lily," James greeted again.

"With you four boys? Not really."

"You're really not a morning person huh?" James smirked and poked her shoulder.

Lily hit him in response and then went out the portrait hole, followed by Alice first and then the boys.

As they sat down at Gryffindor table and began to help themselves to breakfast, Remus looked at the three other Marauders. "Did you guys finish the potions essay?"

"Didn't even start it."

"We had a potions essay?"

"Only at acceptable."

_When did James find time to write his?_ _...maybe there is a reason he was made head boy. _

"Moony, can I copy yours?" Sirius asked.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not? It'll only take a second."

"Yeah, but it took me an hour and a half."

"Well, then we're saving valuable time here!"

"No."

"Fine." Sirius looked over at the Ravenclaw table and spotted a pretty seventh year talking with her friends. "Hey," he smiled at her, "did you know there was a potions essay?"

The girl rolled her eyes and giggled while Sirius grinned and strode over to where she was.

_Well at least he was smart enough to know where to look._

_Peter looks better today…Pink Popping Butterbeer Boy._

Lily ate silently and listened to everyone else at the table talk, mostly about quidditch, until she was done her meal.

She asked Alice for the time.

"Five minutes to nine. You want to head to class?"

"Yeah." Lily turned to James, Remus and Peter, who had finished eating a few minutes before her anyway. "Can we head to class?"

**The bell hasn't even rung yet. What's got her eager?**

"The bell hasn't-" Peter started.

"Yeah, but it's better to get there early than late."

"Okay. Let's go," James stood up and the others followed suit.

They ended up in the crowd of people leaving the Great Hall anyway, and got to class right on time with the other students flooding through the door.

Slughorn stood at the front of the room waiting for everyone to take their seats. "Now, I believe I have an essay to collect from each of you. Please place them in a pile on my desk and then you'll be pairing up."

The class did as they were told, grabbing their parchment from their bags and going to the front of the room to add to the pile.

After all the students had returned to their seats Slughorn continued. "Since you've all now had a chance to read about and research the dangers, effects, and properties of Amortentia, today you will work in partners to start making the potion yourselves. As we have learned this is a very dangerous potion and you are to watch and make sure your partner is well at all times. This will count for much of your final grade so please, do be careful. You can choose your own partners."

"I call Remus!" Sirius shouted, coming into the classroom blatantly late.

Slughorn sighed. "Very well Mister Black. Do you have your essay?"

Sirius held up a piece of parchment nearly two feet long. "Right here." He handed it straight to the Professor proudly and it seemed as if there was a chorus of sighs throughout the room.

"Take your seat Mister Black."

"Sure thing, Professor."

"Partners?" James suggested to Lily.

Lily looked over to Alice whom Frank Longbottom had already gotten the attention of.

_Alice! Well…she really likes him…I mean I guess it wouldn't be so bad. He has to get good grades to be head boy…_

"Okay."

**Really? **

**A/N: Great. So there's chapter nine for those of you who sounded a little impatient, hope this is fast enough for you. Sorry if it isn't but you know, things to do, places to go, people to see. **

**Question: how many letters does my ring have on it?**

**Until next time.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	10. Potions

Lily sighed and added in the snake fangs. "There." She began to stir slowly, just as the instructions had explicitly indicated. James watched.

"Is there anything I can do?" James offered.

Lily shook her head, "No. You can stay quiet and out of my way.

**Um, sure. Okay.**

Lily continued to stir silently, ignoring James' presence entirely.

**Hey, wait. She's not supposed to be able to tell me what to do. The whole point of this is she goes along with what **_**we **_**say.**

"So how are you taking the week's beginning?" James asked.

"In a stride," Lily answered coolly.

James laughed. "You sure do get angry at us a lot."

"I do not," Lily snapped quietly, trying to focus on the potion. "Now, stop talking I want to get this done right."

"Oh calm down. I usually work with Sirius, and I still got the head boy badge, you'd figure something makes it balance, right?" James shot a look over to where Sirius and Remus were. Sirius was levitating his and Remus' ingredients, making them bounce through the air while Remus desperately tried to hold on to them. "As I was saying, you do- don't deny it- get angry at us a lot."

James watched Sirius and Remus amusedly.

"Can't we just charm it to stir by itself?" Sirius asked tiredly.

"No, this needs to be precise," Remus said, clearly for the umpteenth time.

"Well why can't we just-"

James attention went back to Lily.

"I don't," Lily denied anyway, in response to his statement. "And even I did I think I have the right since you four insist on being immature and irresponsible idiots."

"I think that's slightly exaggerated," James told her, raising a hand in defense. "Besides, you're one of us, a Marauder, get used to it."

Lily took her eyes off the cauldron long enough to glare at him and his overly relaxed demeanor. He was sitting in the middle of the seat of his chair, slouching with one arm hanging off the back of the chair and the other tapping out random rhythms on the desk. Lily's glare moved to his hand.

"Cut it out."

**What? The tapping? Well if it bothers you that much.**

James stopped hitting the desk. "See? Now, what was the tapping doing to you?"

"Annoying me."

"Fine. So you don't get angry with us all the time but you most certainly do get annoyed and snappish a lot."

_Yes, and you make me annoyed and snappish. Jeez. _

"Shut up. I'm trying to get this right," Lily said, looking away, back at the cauldron.

**She knows it's true.**

"I can talk if I want to," James said cockily. "And you, you Lilyflower, can't say a damn thing because I'm supposed to be telling you what Marauders do. And Marauders," James looked at the other three Marauders in the room, "talk," he concluded.

Lily's head whipped around to raise an eyebrow at him.

**Oh shit.**

"Fine," she replied. "You go ahead and 'talk' Potter, but until you tell me what each of your little friends would say in return, I don't have to do a damn thing either! So I don't care what the hell you do to entertain yourself, talk all you want, but I don't have to say a thing back. And if you dare call me Lilyflower again, all hopes of having the name 'Potter' carry on are far out the window."

Lily hadn't realized how much her voice had raised from her first outburst and was surprised at how many heads had turned in their direction.

_Oh my Merlin._

Professor Slughorn was most taken aback by his favourite student's tirade. While most students had already seen Lily Evans temper previously, Slughorn wasn't sure what to make of it.

Lily met the Professors eyes. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. She put on an apologetic smile looked down a bit in 'shame'.

Then she returned her gaze to the Potions Master. "I'm sorry Professor. That was uncalled for."

Slughorn paused, processing everything then nodded. "That's quite alright Miss Evans. But I do believe we're all curious as to why you are so upset with Mister Potter."

"Yes, well, he's-"

**Well that was fast. Lily Evans, my girlfriend, great.**

_Rule number three: never rat on a fellow Marauder._

Lily forced another smile, "he didn't do anything Professor. It's my fault."

**Almost tripped there, Evans. Nice save. **

The room was silent and James could tell Lily was uncomfortable with everyone still staring at her. He broke the silence loudly, "So we put the Ahswinder eggs in now?"

"Not yet," Lily mumbled as the rest of the class slowly resumed their work.

**You're welcome.**

James opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He sat quietly with his potions book in his lap, every once in awhile looking up to watch Lily work. She seemed really focused on the potion, her hair cascading down to form a sort of half curtain around her face. Every few glances Lily would move a bit, even slightly, and her hair would sway a little to the side and James caught a view of her profile and her gorgeous green eyes.

Lily however was paying no attention to James whatsoever. She just concentrated on the potion, and continued to stir, knowing she still had awhile to go before she class would end and she could relax.

_Merlin, how much longer? Who knew potions could be such a workout? I mean really. my arm is killing me. _

Lily switched from stirring with her right arm to her left, and while it was certainly uncomfortable, awkward and somewhat less effective, she was still grateful for the opportunity to relax her right arm. She dropped her right arm to her side, sighing a bit in relief.

James looked up as she sighed and gave her a questioning look before going back to doing, well, nothing.

_I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still_

_Da doo ron ron ron Da doo ron ron_

_Somebody told me that his name was Bill_

_Da doo ron ron ron Da doo ron ron_

_Yes, my heart stood still_

_Yes, his name was Bill_

_And when he walked me home _

_Da doo ron ron ron Da doo ron ron…_

**Hey, she's humming again.**

James looked at Lily a little too long and Lily felt his stare and stopped what she was doing. Including the humming.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," James answered quickly. "It's just…well, you were humming again."

"I was not."

_Okay, well it's possible I was…_

"You were too," James contradicted.

"Whatever Potter, just quit staring okay? Find something to keep you occupied."

James shrugged in response and Lily got back to work.

_Knew what he was doing when he caught my eye…no. cut it out Lily. Stop. Just. Work._

…_. Da doo ron ron ron Da doo ron ron_

_He looked so quiet but my oh my_

_Da doo ron ron ron Da doo ron ron._

As Lily continued to work on the potion, switching arms every five minutes, she kept repeated the song in her head. She found she was constantly reminding herself not to hum. But then a note or two would ring out on their own accord.

James watched as Lily switched arms again, and again, and again. Finally he stood up, "Here," he held out a hand and took the stir bar from her carefully.

"Hey," she protested, even though she didn't put up much of a fight and James had already begun to stir slowly, clockwise, imitating exactly what she had been doing.

James shook his head at her, "I'll handle this for awhile. You take a break."

"I'm not leaving my grade in your hands." Lily crossed her arms- her now very tired a sore arms. She realized she had been stirring for nearly thirty minutes nonstop.

James sighed and continued to stir while turning his head to look at her. "Lily, there's ten minutes of class left. Actually, less than that, eight minutes. You think in eight minutes, with you watching me, I'm going to screw this up?"

"It's a definite possibility."

**How stupid does she think I am?**

Lily moved to take the stir bar back but James guarded the cauldron, putting one arm out so when she stepped forward her waist hit his forearm.

_Damn him. I refuse to let him ruin my grades. No. Give! Me! That!_

Lily wanted to scream as James seemed to effortlessly fend her off and keep his eyes on the task at hand- that is, stirring, not fending her off, that wasn't too difficult. She would have screamed too, if she hadn't already attracted enough attention to herself in one class as it was.

"Stop it," Lily ordered as she hit his arm and tried to force it away from her.

"Just sit down," James told said exasperatedly. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't just take the damn break and let him do some of the work. She was using more energy trying to get to the cauldron than she would be stirring.

"Stop it," Lily repeated.

**Stronger than she looks.**

James didn't want to hurt her in forcibly pushing her away but, really.

"If you don't sit down I'm going to stop stirring entirely just to charm you to a chair," James threatened.

Lily paused mid protest and looked at the arm James was using to stir. "Fine," she grumbled as she took her seat.

"Good."

**Was that so hard?**

"Don't mess this up," Lily warned.

James threw her an incredulous look. "I'm not really an idiot," James said slowly as if she was stupid for not knowing this.

"Really?" Lily asked. "Could've fooled me."

**Well you were an idiot for falling into that one, Prongs.**

James mentally slapped himself. "Just…just sit and hum."

_Shut up._

**That was terrible. You better make up for it with the next comeback that ever comes out of your mouth.**

The bell rang to signal the end of class. Since it had been double potions, that meant the students were free to go to lunch.

"Once you pack up your ingredients and set aside your cauldron, you are dismissed," Slughorn announced. Though, it didn't really matter since majority of the students had already slung their bags over their shoulders and were done packing up and halfway out the door.

Lily put tucked her potions book into her bag while James set put the cauldron away and the ingredients packed neatly beside it.

Lily checked to make sure James had put away their materials before swinging her bag over her head to rest on her shoulder and then headed over to Remus.

_Hey, I have to go with the Marauders, never specified which ones._

"Hey Remus," Lily smiled.

"Hey, to lunch?" Remus grabbed his own bag while Sirius shot Lily a look.

"What? No, 'Hi Black'? Or 'Hey Sirius, looking good'?"

"In what world would I my greeting to you include the words 'looking good'?" Lily questioned back.

Sirius shrugged. "We all know what you're thinking Evans; the first step is admitting it to yourself."

"Take your own advice Black," Lily teased.

"Oh Merlin, don't tell me they're rubbing off on you," Remus cried.

Lily shook her head as Peter and James joined the group and they streamed through the door with the rest of the students. "Now way in hell.

* * *

They sat down at Gryffindor table for lunch and as James was just about to reach for a sandwich a voice sounded behind him. "A word, Mister Potter?"

James looked up to see a very stern-looking professor standing behind him.

**Shit.**

James turned on the bench, "Sure Professor. What's up?"

"Mister Potter as I am sure you are aware, you had a detention this morning, correct? Or had you forgotten?"

"That's right," James said, snapping his fingers as if he had come to a realization. "I did have a detention this morning. Guess I'm a little late, eh Professor?"

"Mister Potter, I'd expect this much of you last year but this year," she shook her head disapprovingly, "this year you're head boy. You cannot just…"

"Skip out?" James supplied.

"You cannot just _excuse _yourself from a punishment Mister Potter," McGonagall told him strictly. "Now, either discuss this Professor Dumbledore and see about that badge of yours or we try and set another arrangement for you to serve your punishment."

**Isn't it a little extreme to bring the headmaster into this? And my badge? **

"A discussion with Professor Dumbledore isn't necessary," James said seriously. "When would you like me to serve my detention?"

"You'll come to the Transfiguration room after dinner today and clean out the Transfiguration room," McGonagall informed him.

"Patrols," he reminded her.

**Well then you'll have to stay after class**.

"Well then you'll have to stay after class."

"Alright," James agreed.

"Then tomorrow-"

**There's more?**

"-you'll report to Filch first thing in the morning and he will give you some sort of job to do until classes start, depending on how quickly you work. Understand?"

"Yes Professor," James nodded and McGonagall smiled tightly.

"Good. And this won't happen again Mister Potter?"

"Not again Professor."

After McGonagall had left Sirius smirked.

"Suck up much?"

James glared, "No. But I wasn't going to argue I'm already going to have to take orders from Filch."

"Sure mate."

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this. I considered making it longer but I'm sort of tired, please excuse my errors since editing was lacking and when done reading I'd be glad if you pointed them out so I can fix those. So I have the next chapter planned for the most part, meaning it will probably be posted within the next few days.

Now, sorry if this sounds unreasonable but I want to reach 200 reviews with this chapter so please, pretty please, a please as attractive as James Potter and Sirius Black put together, help me get there.

Question: what animal picture is on my pj's? or you can guess my age. or both. or none. but please review.

Anyways,

Scarlett


	11. Conversations and Patrols

Lunch ended and Lily sighed in relief. James, Sirius, and Remus had a free period while she had charms. Peter was also in her charms class but it wasn't as if that would kill her. If they paired up she'd probably have to work with him but in charms, work was usually done individually anyway.

James, Remus and Sirius stood to leave the Great Hall.

"We'll miss you, Lily," James grinned.

"If that's not a Marauder thing you better brace yourself to be slapped Potter," Lily said, standing as well.

James looked at Peter. "You too, Pete."

Peter looked down embarrassedly.

"Later," Sirius gave a half wave and then strutted out the doors with James and Remus following out behind him.

* * *

James parked himself on the grass beneath the Beech tree near the lake. Remus sat down across from him, pulling out a book while Sirius grabbed onto one of the trees long, thick arms and lifted himself up to sit and let his feet dangle next to James head.

Sirius kicked the side of James head lightly. When he got no reaction out of James he gently nudged the side of his head with his foot again.

**Cut it out Padfoot…**

James said nothing and so Sirius pushed James' head with his foot. Finally, after James ignoring two more nudges he actually kicked his head.

**Ow!**

James grabbed the foot that had made contact with his head and yanked down hard, then quickly scrambled out the way as Sirius hit the ground where he had been.

"Screw you," Sirius grumbled shoving James. "What the hell was that for?"

"For kicking me you dolt," James exclaimed.

"I was _trying_ to get your attention."

"And what? You lost the ability to talk?"

"This is an important matter," Sirius declared. "Well, actually, not really. But it's of importance to you."

"Shut up and talk," James ordered.

"Alright. Fine. I was just wondering how you plan to make Evans your girlfriend is all."

**The bet you idiot. You kicked me for this?**

James voiced his thoughts as Sirius stood up and climbed back onto the branch.

"Well I know that's what you were planning. But how the hell do you expect to win if you keep catering to her every wish?" Sirius asked.

**I do not cater to her every wish.**

"Easy. I don't," James replied.

"Oh but you do," Sirius contradicted. "Lily wants to stay in the common room and work on her essay. So what does James do? He stays with her, let's her work on the damn essay."

"It wasn't because of the essay," James protested. "I just thought It would give me some alone time with her."

"Yeah, her and her potions book. You probably only had half or less of her attention at any one point during that entire 'alone time' with her."

"No. We spent half of that time talking."

**True, she got sort of mad at me. But that's besides the point!**

"Moony, back me up here!" James demanded.

Remus winced at being brought into the conversation at all and gave James an apologetic smile. "Well, I mean, you _did_ end karaoke early for her."

"It wasn't for her benefit only. Sirius was drunk," James justified.

Sirius leaned against the main part of the tree, in the crook of the branch. "Never stopped karaoke night before."

James glared at Remus. "Well, maybe she'll like you better for it," Remus offered quickly. "You know, seeing a nicer side of you. Girls like nice."

"Yeah," Sirius said sarcastically, "that's how you get a girl, be extra _nice._"

"It actually does work," Remus told him, "if you're the kind of person going for a long term relationship."

"Whatever. So say this _nice_ thing works. The best it's going to do is get him in the friend zone if anything. And by then it will be too late," Sirius pointed out, "he won't be able to ask her out anymore since he'll have lost."

**Oh Merlin, he has a point.**

"Yeah, but if he tries to get her to forfeit she'll hate him," Remus countered.

**She would.**

"So? She'll have to be his girlfriend anyway."

**Yeah. But it'd be nicer if she wanted to…**

"But how much does the title count for if she doesn't genuinely like him?"

**Not much but…**

"She may like him eventually."

**Eventually? **

"Or hate him for forcing her to be something she doesn't want to be."

**Yeah, she'd hate me.**

"But if he loses there's no chance. At least this way there's some hope."

**But it hasn't even happened yet.**

"But if he's nice there's a lot of hope. When it's over she could always ask him out."

**Would she?**

"Yeah, and I could jump off the astronomy tower. Doesn't mean I'm going to."

**She'd rather jump off the astronomy tower than date me?**

"That's a pushing-"

"Shut up!" James yelled.

Both Remus and Sirius fell silent. They looked at James; "Well?" they prodded in unison.

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, falling back to lie down on the grass. "I have no bloody clue."

"We could try a different tactic entirely," James said thoughtfully. "I mean, she's supposed to be a Marauder. Show her what Marauders do."

"I'm lost. What are we talking about?" Sirius asked. "Quidditch?"

"Not what guys do. _Marauders_…we could show her the map."

"No!" Sirius was quick to shake his head. James feared he was going to get whiplash. "No. I never agreed to this. We can't show her."

"Why not? It's not like she'll say anything. Not like she _can_ say anything, she'd lose if she did," James clasped his hands together and put them behind his head comfortably. "I think it's a good idea I mean-"

"You mean divulge our secrets so she can call us all irresponsible and dishonest?" Sirius cut in. "Yes, Prongs, spiffing idea."

**Ignoring your sarcasm.**

"Yeah, it is. She'll be-"

"What? Overjoyed?"

"_No_ I was going to say-"

"Exactly Prongs, _no _is right, she won't. She won't be 'pleased' at all and it'll cost us all our heads."

"Shut up for second and let me finish." James sat up to see Sirius nod and roll his eyes in agreement before falling back onto the grass. "She'll be amazed that we showed her. It will get us onto her good side."

"But is that the goal here?" Sirius asked. "Get on her good side? I thought we were supposed to make this week miserable and terrifying to the point where she'll quit and you'll win."

"I don't think so," Remus wondered aloud. "I thought the point was to show her you're not the Prongs she thinks you are."

**I thought the point was to get her to…not despise me.**

"Here's an idea," Remus set his book aside and leaned back on one elbow, "we use Sirius' tactic, sort of. We could move the MOWW party to tonight and then if Sirius' plan fails, then she either forfeits or you use your plan to make things better between you two."

**Move the Middle Of the Week Wednesday party to tonight…I could definitely go for that. Except for patrols and detention.**

"Sure," James agreed. "But it's going to have to wait until after patrols. About nine o'clock maybe."

"Alright," Remus shrugged. "And don't forget to actually show up at your detention today."

"Sure thing Moony."

* * *

James missed dinner because of his detention. He ended up only having enough time afterwards to grab a dinner roll and a small piece of quiche before heading off with Lily to go do patrols.

"Anything interesting happen at dinner?" James asked as they left Gryffindor common room. It was nearing eight o'clock and the hallways were empty.

Lily laughed, "Not really. I mean Remus and Sirius got into a debate about whether or not Divination was a good class to have. Peter just nodded along. That was about it."

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Lily questioned back confusedly.

"Well, do you think Divination is a good class?"

_It's not necessarily a __bad__ class but…_

"I think it's alright. A total waste of time for some people, but I guess if you have the talent for it it's useful," she answered logically.

"Well that's certainly more thought on it than Sirius and I had. We only took it last year since it was an easy class to pass. Honestly, you make up a ton of bull that has about a fifty-fifty chance of actually happening and you fly by with all E's at least," James chuckled.

Lily shook her head, "That's awful."

"Hey," James held up his hands in defense, "it not my fault it works."

"Is that what clears your conscience about everything?" Lily asked with a side glance at him.

James rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Not for _everything_. But, you know, it does help with most things." He nudged her, "You should try it."

_Wonder how great life is when you live thinking like that. Not for anything that's actually wrong or harmful to others of course but…Merlin, just to spend one day with that kind of mindset…_

"Maybe I will." James caught a glimpse of the slight smile gracing her lips.

"You know," he said, "you have the rest of the week to try our methods."

_Maybe that's not such a bad idea._

"So what else did you talk about?"

"Nothing really," Lily told him. "That was the gist of it; they let me eat in peace."

"Damn," James cursed, "they were supposed to ask why you why you don't like me."

Lily smirked, "They did. I told them there wasn't enough time to discuss that."

Something about the way Lily said it, teasingly, like some sort of inside joke between them, made it okay for him to laugh. And he did.

Lily looked at him like he was insane. "What? No retort? Or is this your way of admitting you really _are_ insane and unstable?"

James ignored her questions and instead changed the subject to the task at hand. "So how much longer is this going to take?"

Lily looked at the empty corridor ahead of her. "Let's just head towards the dungeons, and then we can go back to Gryffindor Tower. That should take up the rest of the hour if we walk slowly."

James nodded, "Alright. Sounds good."

"Hey," Lily called out, seeing a couple of second years wandering down a corridor. One of them took off running and the other struggled to try and catch up. "Hey!" Lily yelled. "You two are supposed to be in your common rooms!"

James laughed, "I think they're aware of that Lily." At her annoyed look, more caused by the second years than James, he shook his head. "Here, I'll handle it."

James went in the same direction the two boys had run. There were just about to turn the next corner when James pulled out his wand and flicked it in their direction, effectively dragging both boys back to where he was. "Where're you headed?"

"Nowhere," one answered quickly. He was the scrawny and smaller of the two, and the faster one.

The other hit the first one. "Shut up Paul! Now he's going to ask questions."

**Well he's definitely the smarter one.**

"You should listen to this one," James told the scrawnier one, Paul, with a nod in his friend's direction. "So where are you really going?" James looked at their ties, Hufflepuff.

"Craig says he found a secret passage," Paul said. "We were going to check it out."

James laughed as Craig hit Paul again. "Well you didn't have to tell him that you idiot!"

"Sorry," Paul apologized shamefully.

James laughed, "We could give you a detention for this you know. Hogwarts is filled with secret passageways; it's not worth a detention to just see one. Now, what you want to do is pretend you're first years and don't know how to get back to common room. Then there's no detention and you search for passageways tomorrow. Right?"

Both boys nodded with lost expressions.

"So let's start over," James told them. "Where're you headed?"

Craig grinned, "We don't know where our common room is from here…"

James pointed in the right direction. "That way. And next time try not to get lost." He ruffled both of their hair and they looked up angrily. James gave them a look to say 'you're 'first years' I'm seventh. I just saved your asses'.

They both slapped wide grins back on their faces and tanked James before heading off to their common room. James caught a clip of their conversation while leaving. "_Filled_ with secret passageways?"

"I know, jeez I thought one was cool."

"Man, Craig, we've gotta ask him about those! You think he knows where they are?"

"We can ask him about those! That was James Potter you idiot! He's like, the Marauder leader with Sirius Black. You can't just _ask_ him to tell where all the secret passageways are."

"Oh well maybe if we-"

"No way Paul!"

Lily laughed walking up to James, "Way to 'handle' the situation."

"Ah, I remember sneaking out in second year. Obviously I was better at it but...at least they're trying."

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence for another ten minutes before Lily turned to James. "So, how terrible was detention?"

"Not so bad, tomorrow's will probably be worse," he shrugged. At Lily's questioning look he elaborated. "Filch definitely isn't a fan of ours."

"What's constitutes as 'not so bad'?" Lily queried.

"McGonagall had me clean her classroom non-magically and sort through the first years essays by house," James replied. "I've been through worse…You've never had detention have you?"

"Not true," she disagreed. "I was lost my Transfiguration essay and McGonagall gave me a detention for it."

"One detention?" James gave her an incredulous look. "That hardly counts."

"Hardly, sure, but it still counts."

"Whatever you want to believe, go ahead."

_It counts!_

**One detention does **_**not**_** count.**

They doubled back as they reached the dungeons and slowly began to head back the way they came, towards Gryffindor Tower.

"So what else is happening tonight?" Lily questioned as they neared the Fat Lady portrait.

**Well, she'll see it in a minute anyway.**

"A party," he answered simply.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Is there ever a day where you boys don't have a party?"

"Men," James corrected. "And Thursdays are usually calm."

James gave the password and the portrait swung open, granting them entrance.

"You guys do know that other houses aren't supposed to be in here, right?" Lily looked around the room. Music was playing loudly and people were shouting and laughing even louder to be heard over it. There was a mix of houses, but nobody in the room wore a green and silver tie.

"'Course. We usually have Peter by the portrait anyway so nobody outside of Gryffindor gets the password."

"Hey! Prongsie, you're here!" Sirius yelled as James stepped into the common room.

_Nobody gets drunk tonight. And if they do I am __not__ cleaning it up._

"Hey Pads," James greeted.

**Did they already start…?**

"Okay!" Sirius yelled getting the room's attention. "All girls willing to play Seven Minutes in Heaven need to drop something in the hat now!"

_Seven Minutes in Heaven? The muggle game? Oh Merlin no…_

* * *

A/N: Alright so there's chapter 11. I sadly did not get to 200 reviews. And I would have held off on this _until_ I got my 200 reviews but I felt bad denying the people who did review a chapter. So I expect A LOT of reviews for this chapter.

Now to Anonymous who reviewed last chapter: Hagrid states that Lily and James were head boy an' girl in their year in chapter four of Philospher's Stone.

And while James was said to have been playing with a golden snitch J. K. Rowling once stated in an interview that he was chaser not a seeker, though they also say that's where Harry got his quidditch skills from. You could also say he switched positions somewhere in his years.

Also thank you to Liz who also pointed this out. Thanks for reviewing!

Anyways,

Scarlett


	12. Sixty Second Rule

Lily sighed.

_I can't believe they're going to play something as stupid as Seven Minutes in Heaven. It's ridiculous._

Sirius put a black top hat on a table in the middle of the room-Lily had no idea where he found a top hat- and girls immediately started flooding towards it.

Someone bumped into Lily as they tried to get to the hat and Lily's jaw dropped as she turned. "Alice?" she said in disbelief. "You can't possibly be participating in this."

Alice looked guilty. "Sorry. It's exciting Lily. Thrilling you know? Besides, I'll probably end up with Frank anyway; I already told him what I'm putting in." She held up a barrette with a fabric flower attached to it and dropped it into the hat. "This'll be fun," she bubbled with excitement.

"That's the spirit Prewett!" Sirius encouraged.

Lily rolled her eyes.

_What have they done to Alice? _

The hat was half full of girls' items in less than two minutes. Sirius grinned.

**Isn't she going to…?**

"Well?" Sirius asked. "What are you putting in Evans?"

**Well at least I don't have to be the one to ask. She'd murder me.**

"I'm not," Lily told him firmly, shaking her head.

**Well if you want to forfeit...fine by me.**

"Ah, ah, ah Evans," Sirius sang. "Each of us Marauders are pulling one, so unless you'd rather pull something you have to put something in."

Lily shook her head again, silently.

"So you're giving up the bet then?" Sirius asked.

Again she shook her head.

Sirius held the hat out, "Then…"

Lily's jaw set angrily as she pulled a necklace from her robes and fiddled with the clasp on the back until it became undone and she took it off. She slid the pendant hanging from it, a gold lily with a silver middle, off the chain before placing it in the hat.

_Merlin, I swore I would never play something so immature. I can't…Merlin._

**A lily pendant…a lily pendant…**

Sirius stuck a hand in the hat and mixed the contents. "Okay, men, line up!"

Guys rushed from whatever they were doing to stand in front of Sirius. One by one Sirius held out the hat for each of the blokes to pull something out, and then watched the expressions of delight, disgust, or in the rare case, pure smugness.

Lily couldn't watch. She turned away and went over to Alice. "Hey," she greeted. "So, what are you doing?"

"You sound a little nervous," Alice teased.

Lily scowled, "I'm not nervous, I'm annoyed. It just seems so childish. I mean, there are people our age getting married. Loads of people. And in some countries people our age are having children, they're considered adults by the time they're thirteen. They are mature and responsible. And what are we here doing? Shoving people in a closet, that's what." She paused. "Have you ever read 'Romeo and Juliet'? Did you know that Juliet was only thirteen? And Romeo was somewhere around eighteen. I think that-"

"Lily, you're rambling," Alice interrupted loudly. "Are you sure you're not nervous? Don't worry Lily; it's just a bit of fun. No need to be afraid. And," she lowered her voice and leaned in, indicating for Lily to come closer, "I saw Greg Scott watching you put your pendant in the hat."

Lily glanced over at Greg, her expression clearly showing displeasure.

_Greg Scott?_

"What?" Alice asked. "He's cute."

"I know, he was in my Transfiguration class last year." Lily looked back at Alice. "He's really annoying though. And he isn't too bright either."

"But he's…_fine_," Alice grinned.

Lily face scrunched up at Alice's terminology. "His personality doesn't match up. He makes me quite angry, actually."

"Well the point isn't to talk to him for seven minutes, now is it?"

"Alice!" Lily berated. "That's terrible. I really don't understand why anyone would do this kind of thing."

Alice was no longer listening. "Oh, here they come," she smiled as she watched Sirius put the hat back on the table. Everyone had drawn.

_Oh Merlin._

Lily let out a sigh. "So, what happens now?"

Alice grinned widely, "Now they have to find the girl the object they pulled belongs to. The sooner you get your match the sooner you get in the closet. And, well, you know the rest."

Lily looked around, "There's not even a closet here. What are they going to do? Shove us under the couch?"

Alice shook her head. "_No._ There's a closet in the back over there. Look," she pointed. Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter were standing around a door at the back of the room that was sort of camouflaged in, being the same colour as the walls.

"Since when is that there?" Lily questioned, having never noticed it before.

Alice shrugged. "I don't know. Forever? It's basically just filled with extra stuff. A couple of chairs, a lamp, a broom."

_How could I have missed that?_

The guys were milling about the room, tapping girls on the shoulder or just holding out objects and walking around until someone claimed them. There were bracelets, barrettes, headbands, tubes of lipgloss and lipstick, a pocket mirror, and, oddly enough, a rolled up pair of pantyhose.

Lily nearly let out a breath of relief after being able to honestly decline a few different things from some of the boys.

As it turns out, Alice was right, and Frank her were in the closet second.

**I should probably walk around and ask a few others before her, right? Yeah, that's a good idea. Don't make it too obvious…I wonder if she knows I saw what she put in…**

James went up to the first girl he saw and held out the gold lily. "Yours?" he asked distractedly.

"Yeah," the girl smiled and reached for James hand while tossing her very blonde and very long hair over her shoulder. "Thanks. You want-"

"Hey," the guy a couple feet away from her called. "I already gave you your lip… stuff."

"Oh. Right," the girl giggled as if it was just a misunderstanding that she forgot and pouted. "Oh, well. There's always next time."

James carefully moved away from her. "Sorry," he muttered to the guy next to her then walked off.

**Maybe it's not such a good idea after all.**

"Hey Lils," he tried to sound casual as he approached her. He held up the lily, "This yours then?"

_James ? Lie! Lie, lie, lie!_

"No…"

"Oh."

**Yes it is. Does she hate me that much?**

"Really? Because I've asked every other girl in this room," he tried.

_Shoot._

"Oh, wait. Can I see it?" she held out a hand for the pendant and James nodded.

"Yeah, sure, here." He handed it to her and she looked at it intently.

"Yes, this is mine."

**Yes!**

"Prongs! You found L-her yet?" Sirius yelled across the common room.

James nodded.

"Whenever you're ready then, closet's free."

"I thought it was whoever finds the person first, aren't we nearly last?" Lily raised an eyebrow and James shrugged.

"Marauders get this sort of priority thing." He headed towards the closet. "Lily?"

"Right."

She followed behind him.

People stared and began to whisper as Sirius opened the door for them and Lily stepped inside the small, dark space. James went in after her and Sirius shut the door.

_I can't see a thing…okay, calm down Lily. _

She blinked a few times and waited until her eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting. After a few seconds she could see James in the darkness.

Lily sat down on one of the two chairs in the closet and pushed away the broomstick that was hitting her shoulder.

James took a seat on the other chair, his leg and Lily's against each other in the small closet.

"Did you-"

_Keep your voice down. You don't need them to hear you talk right now. That's not the 'point' of this._

"-see what I had put in the hat?" she finished quietly.

**She'll probably know anyway…you could lie though…**

James looked at her, "Yeah. I did. And, not going to lie here, I did try to pull your…lily….thing. But I swear I didn't look."

Lily nodded slowly.

"Are you pissed?"

"No," Lily laughed a little. "Not really. I mean, I was afraid I'd end up with Greg Scott or someone."

**Greg Scott?**

_Well, I mean, it's James Potter…but…at least it's not Greg Scott, right?_

**How do I explain this to her…?**

"Lily, not to push, but we kind of actually do need to kiss," he told her. "Otherwise we won't be let out of here. It's charmed."

"What if someone just waits out the seven minutes?"

"Well, then they'd be stuck in here. You need to at least do a minute of what they expect you to before you can leave."

Lily turned to face James. "Oh."

"We don't have to yet," James said. "I'd reckon we still have about five more minutes."

"Okay."

**Didn't know it was going to be this awkward.**

_It can't be that bad. Sixty seconds. That's it. Sixty seconds and then I'm out of here. It's fine. Everything's fine. _

**But what if she this doesn't go as planned? If she doesn't get angry but things just get awkward? Or what if I mess up somehow? She'll probably think I'm insane in one of those awful stay-away-from-me-go-get-some-help ways. What if-**

"Can we just-"

"What?" James asked before she could finish, snapping back from his thoughts.

Lily shook her head. "I was just thinking ma-"

"Oh. Sorry. Go ahead."

**Quit interrupting her! Let her finish.**

_Well if he'd just let me finish I was going to say…no. Never mind. That'll just make everything worse._

"Oh, um, never mind," she said quickly.

"Come on, tell me. What?"

"Nothing." Lily looked away from James and instead focused on the bucket next to her.

Another minute passed in silence and finally James moved over even closer to Lily and leaned towards her. He placed his hand under her chin and gently turned her head to face him. He held her gaze for moment before running his thumb over her cheek.

_Is he going to…? Sixty seconds Lily, remember, sixty seconds._

He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

His hand slid from her chin to her cheek and from her cheek to the back of her neck, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair.

Lily gasped a little and then responded to the kiss herself. She moved towards him a little more, making the way they were sitting more comfortable. Lily placed one hand on James' shoulder and the other on his knee and kissed him back.

One of James' hands moved to Lily's waist and he pulled her closer still, until she was nearly sitting in his lap. As he deepened the kiss and his lips moved against hers in slow rhythm his tongue swiped across her lower lip as if to ask permission. Lily's lips parted ever so slightly, granting him access.

**Strawberries.**

Lily had relaxed considerably into the moment and as she continued to kiss James she continued to forget. Forgetting that she was only going to count to sixty, forgetting that it was all part of a game, forgetting how immature what she was doing really was, and, most surprisingly, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be enjoying any of it.

"Time's up!" someone yelled from outside the closet door. And they were pulled back to everything around them.

Lily pulled away, blushing so fiercely she was glad she was in a dark closet, and she put her face in her hands. Both of them were breathing hard and James loosened the Gryffindor tie that hung around his neck. Lily ran a hand through her hair that was slightly messy from James pulling his own fingers through it, and then they both stood. James leaned in a placed a last, soft, kiss on Lily's cheek before opening the door.

Lily's head felt like it spun for a moment, from the shock of standing, from the shock of the light, and from the shock of what had just happened. She barely paid attention to what the people around her were whispering as she and James walked past them. She headed straight to the couch and sat down, tucking her feet under her and propping her head up with her hand, her elbow on the armrest.

James sat down as well, nearly at the other end of the couch. Lily didn't take any notice of his presence.

_I just kissed James Potter._

**I just made out with Lily Evans.**

_Oh my Merlin..._

**Is she going to kill me now?**

Lily fell back into the couch with a sigh and James glanced over at her.

Hesitantly he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Look, I can't really say I'm actually sorry, because... well I enjoyed it. But..."

Lily nodded a little. "Um, can we go down to the kitchens? I really feel like some pumpkin juice."

James seemed to jump up fromt he couch in relief, "Sure. Definitely. Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Alright, so kind of short but I know I won't be able to write another chapter in the next few days so I figured I'd post this one now. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You are all so awesome. I am now past 200 review which is wonderful. So please review it would be much appreciated.

Question:I'm thinking of a word that doesn't rhyme with anything. What is it? (hint: it's not 'orange') Guess away.

Anyways,

Scarlett


	13. Waffles

Lily and James walked through the hallways silently. James couldn't decide whether it was because she was afraid of getting caught being out of the common room or if it was simply because she didn't want to speak to him.

They weren't going to get caught anyway. Or, if they did, it was still early enough for them to claim they were still patrolling. Filch would be easy enough to handle, the patrol excuse would work for him. The only problem they could possibly run into Peeves. Regularly Peeves wouldn't bother James at all, he usually joined in on the Marauders fun when he could, but if he was in the mood he would just as easily wake the whole castle and alert some sort of authority that they were out.

Lily stared down at her feet, focusing on the floor rather than her company. She'd focus on anything but her company.

_I'd rather just be alone. Five minutes. Just five minutes to myself. But I don't really have a choice, now do I?_

They reached the kitchens a few moments later and James tickled the pear for them to gain entrance.

After they both sat down at a counter off to the side of the elves actual kitchen space. Not too many of the house elves were in the kitchen, it wasn't as crowded as usual since it wasn't close to any actual mealtimes.

"What can Misty get Mister Potter and miss?" one the elves rushed over to them and Lily smiled slightly.

"Some pumpkin juice please," she requested.

James gave her an odd look. "You can't come all the way to the kitchens and just get pumpkin juice. There has to be something else you'd like."

The elf looked at James expectantly. "Oh, thanks Misty, just bring the pumpkin juice for now."

The elf nodded and left to get the pumpkin juice.

"Well?" James prompted Lily. "She'll be back any second now, what else do you want?"

"Nothing," Lily told him honestly. She spoke quietly as if she hadn't really wanted to speak at all.

James licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "Chocolate covered strawberries?" he suggested.

**She tasted like strawberries. **

Lily shook her head.

James hummed a bit in thought, "Éclairs?"

No response.

"Chocolate mousse?"

"No." It came out harsher than she had intended but she didn't bother to try and take it back or fix it.

James sighed. Misty came back with a pitcher of pumpkin juice and two goblets. She put them down in front of the two and they thanked the elf before Lily filled her goblet and then James'.

Lily took a slow sip and James looked at the elf. "Do you think you could make a really big waffle?" he asked. He gestured with his hand to show how big. About the size of an entire plate. He glanced at Lily for some sign of approval or otherwise but got nothing.

"Absolutely Mister Potter." Misty smiled widely and then went off to make the waffle.

Lily just continued to take small sips of her pumpkin juice and sit quietly, not even acknowledging the fact that James was there.

"I'm sorry-" he started.

Lily turned to face him, her expression blank. "I thought you weren't sorry."

**Well…I am now. You won't talk to me!**

_Lily, give him a break. It's…well it's somewhat his fault…but…_

"I'm…I'm not sorry about what happened," James corrected. He grinned lopsidedly, "I'm _definitely _not sorry about that. I _am_ sorry about this though."

_Meaning…?_

"What is 'this'?" Lily finger quoted.

"That you won't talk to me," James told her. "That, up until a second ago, you wouldn't even look at me."

She let out a long sigh. "Sorry."

She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again she looked calmer, and more decided. "I just wasn't exactly sure what to say to you."

There was a comfortable moment of silence between them as they both seemed to relax into the sense that things were now lighter around them.

_I think that covers it. I can't believe I kissed James Potter. I __actually__ kissed James Potter. I should talk to Alice about all of this. I have charms with her…Peter's in that class. I have transfigur-James and Sirius are in that class. Potions all four of them are there. Defence against the dark arts, again, all of them. Herbology…just me and Alice. And Frank. But I'm sure he won't mind if I steal her for a few minutes, I can talk to her tomorrow then…she'll probably be asleep by the time the four of them let me leave for the day…_

**Girls. How do you keep up with them? Maybe I can talk to Moony about this stuff. Or Padfoot…yeah that's good idea. Note the sarcasm.**

"Misty, wants to know if Mister Potter would like syrup and strawberries."

James was pulled from his thoughts as the elf held up a silver container of syrup and a small bowl of strawberries. He nodded and Misty placed them on the counter, "Enjoy Mister Potter."

"Thanks Misty."

The elf popped away and Lily looked at James plate in astonishment.

_It's nearly eleven o'clock! That waffle is as big as his head!_

James picked up a knife and fork and handed it to Lily, and then he picked up the syrup and drenched the dish with it. He dumped the strawberries on top in a typical male fashion and then grinned as he also picked up a set of cutlery.

Lily held the fork and knife he had handed her up like it was foreign. "Uh, that's okay, you go ahead."

"What? This thing is huge and it's nearly eleven o'clock!" he exclaimed.

_Couldn't have realized that before? _

"Well you should have thought about that before you asked for it," Lily pointed out.

James began to cut into it. "Come on, please Lils? Help me at least get half of it done?"

"No. You can eat that all by yourself."

James gave her a pleading look. "Please?"

"Fine." Lily forked the piece he had cut and put it in her mouth.

James began to eat as well and they both tackled three quarters of the waffle in ten minutes between the two of them.

"There," Lily said after swallowing what she told herself was her last bite. "I helped you eat more than half. Now, now, I feel sick thank you very much."

"Aw, come on, it's delicious!" He picked up a strawberry and popped it in his mouth, licking his fingers clean afterwards.

He continued to eat until he had finished the entire thing and all that was left was smeared syrup and the tops of strawberries. "Done!" He threw done his fork in victory and Lily raised an eyebrow.

_Such a boy._

"Good," Lily told him, taking her last sip of pumpkin juice. "Now can we go? I seriously feel sick."

"Wait. Really?" He stared at her carefully. "Do you want me to carry you to-" he went to pick her up but Lily batted him away.

"No. What I would like is to go back to the common room. Quietly and without getting caught. Also, maybe to never again have to see another waffle."

James nodded and they thanked Misty one last time before leaving the kitchens.

An excuse of patrols wouldn't work at this hour so both James and Lily were walking quietly yet quickly down the corridors to get back to the common room unnoticed.

"This would be so much easier if we had brought the cloak…"James muttered.

"Cloak?" Lily whispered questioningly.

**Right, haven't exactly told her about that, Prongs. Nice going.**

"Nothing."

Lily didn't press any further and instead just continued down the corridor without a word. She pressed a hand to her stomach.

_Did he have to douse it with syrup? I feel sick…_

James turned to Lily. She had stopped walking and had both hands to her stomach and was bent over a bit.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Lily shook her head. "Maybe it's not such a good idea to eat something so sugary so late."

They went into Gryffindor common room to see that the party hadn't quite ended yet. Majority of the students had already retired to their dormitories and only a handful of seventh years and the Marauders remained.

Lily felt like her stomach had moved from her tummy to her chest and was slowly making it's way to her throat. Where her stomach should have been felt empty in one of those 'I know I'm not hungry; I just feel ill' ways.

She had one hand on her stomach and the other on her chest as she went followed James to where Sirius, Remus and Peter were.

Sirius laughed as he saw her. "Hey, Evans, I didn't know it was _your_ turn to get intoxicated," he joked.

Lily glared. "I'm not drunk you dolt. I just don't feel well."

"Well alright then. What happened to the two of you?" he asked. "One minute you're leaving the closet looking very…dishevelled-"

"Ooh, _dishevelled_, big word Padfoot," Remus interrupted.

Sirius grinned. "Thanks. Oh, and then the next you two are gone for nearly an hour?"

Peter raised an eyebrow and he and Sirius shared a look.

A knowing look slowly crept onto Sirius' face. "I see. Seven minutes wasn't enough, eh Evans?"

_Shut up Black._

**Shut up Pads.**

"_No._ We went to the kitchens," Lily informed him tightly.

Remus seemed to take in Lily's slightly folded posture and sick expression. "What'd you eat?"

"Tell them James," Lily said.

"A waffle," James told them simply. "It was delicious too. Except…I guess I put a little too much syrup. Lily isn't feeling too good."

"A little?" Lily exclaimed. "James, it was syrup with a waffle."

He four boys gave her odd looks.

**Isn't that what everybody has?**

"As opposed to…?" Remus prodded.

"As opposed to a waffle with syrup!" Lily cried.

The four of them stared at her in confusion.

"Isn't that what you just said?"

Lily shook her head sadly.

"Forget it. Never mind." She looked around as a few of the seventh years went to their respectful staircases and headed to their dormitories. "So is that it for today? I can go to sleep?"

**It's…almost tomorrow. Yeah, we have to get up early anyway.**

James nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah, you can go. We're heading up."

"But Evans?" Sirius called as she began to walk away. "I'm not waking you up tomorrow."

_I hope not._

"Get up on time, eh?" She nodded. "And none of this 'leaving breakfast early for class' shit, alright? I don't do that crap," Sirius gave her a stern look- odd to see on the face of Sirius Black- and Lily laughed. "I'm serious!" he told her.

"We know," Peter piped.

Everyone raised an eyebrow at him. "That's old Pete," James said.

_Serious/Sirius jokes…siriusly?_

"Evans?" Sirius waited for her affirmation.

"Yes, Mister Black," Lily sang back in a mockingly obedient tone.

James chuckled and shook his head. "Good. Now that that's cleared up. Go to your room."

Lily gave him an incredulous smile before sighing. "Goodnight Black, goodnight Remus, 'night Peter, g'night James." She marched up the staircase and into her shared dormitory.

She tried her best to be silent as she entered the dormitory, trying not to wake the other girls. She slipped out of her robes and into her warm, cream, flannel pyjamas.

After brushing her teeth and tying her hair back in a messy, low ponytail she folded down her sheets and comforter and crawled into bed.

Her stomach was finally calming down as she pulled her covers up to her chin and turned to lie on her side, the way she usually slept.

_You kissed James Potter. Lily Evans, what have you done?_

_It was necessary. I'd rather kiss him once than be his girlfriend for you know how long._

_You'd rather kiss him once? Maybe there's a small possibility you enjoyed it._

_Well it was terrible. There is some truth to what those girls are always blabbering on about…not that I agree exactly. But…it doesn't mean he's any less of a conceited git than he was before…I need to talk to Alice._

Lily sat up in bed and looked over to where Alice was sleeping.

_I shouldn't wake her… But if she wakes up by herself…that would be in no way my fault. Alice, wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake. Up. Wake…up. Alice…Oh Merlin Lily you're ridiculous. Deal with this tomorrow._

Lily sighed and lay back down, getting comfortable again. She let her eyes drift close and sleep wash over her. She relaxed every muscle in her body until the only movement she made was her chest rising and falling with each breath. She let the exhaustion of the day float away as her breathing even out and her subconscious took over her thoughts.

"Well Prongsie?" Sirius sat down on his bed and pulled his socks off and balled them up, tossing them across the room.

"What?" James answered distractedly, getting his t-shirt on over his head. He got into bed, lying down on his back.

"You had entire seven minutes," Sirius said, "what happened?"

James grinned like a fool. "We kissed."

"Really now?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

Remus hit Sirius with a well-aimed shoe. It bounced off Sirius' shoulder and onto the floor. Peter ran over and retrieved it, putting next to his other shoe and giving Remus a look to say 'You couldn't have thrown your own shoe?'.

Remus shrugged. Peter hopped onto his bed and crossed his legs like a little kid, excited and ready to listen. "How was it?"

"Glorious," James replied, looking a little delirious. "And she wasn't even mad. I mean, that was the second best part."

"There was a third best part?" Remus questioned.

James shook his head, "I guess not. Except the relief when she finally talked to me again… She was a fantastic kisser by the way. Brilliant."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

Remus shook his head. "It went well then. So are we still going through with tomorrow's plan then?"

**Hogsmeade…**

"Put it off until Wednesday," James instructed. "Tomorrow we can plan out the week's prank."

"You know, if you didn't have to go and get Head Boy we wouldn't have had to cut down to only one a week," Sirius reminded.

James chucked the first thing he could grab off his nightstand at him. It happened to be an empty small empty vial. "Sod off. It's not so bad."

There was silence as they each got into bed. "Hey…she called me James twice, right? It wasn't my imagination?"

"Not your imagination. She did," Remus replied through a yawn.

James smiled.

He closed his eyes and began to replay the unforgettable seven minutes. Over and over and over again. Occasionally adding a little bit more than what happened to the scene. After all, he was a seventeen year old boy. Then slowly he lost control of his thoughts and his subconscious took over.

* * *

A/N: First off, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. They literally made my week.

Now just a couple of replies here:

To Anonymous: I apologize if the last chapter offended you. It was not my intention to make any sort of stereotypical joke. Honestly. And might I add that the 'jury' who was all over James as well was described completely differently. All the girls are supposed to throw themselves at these two boys. But again, I am sorry if I offended you.

To Elizabeththecrazy: I'll hold you to that.

And finally wisegirlwiseeyes: I remember that. Good to know you're still reading.

Please review. It means a lot. And this time round I will be sending a handful of reviewers (my favourite reviews I receive for this chapter) a snippet of the next chapter. Just make sure to sign in.

Question: What is my word of the day?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	14. Morning 3 and Moving Slowly

Lily woke up early. Very early, considering the hour she was usually woken up.

She looked at the clock. Five forty-eight. There was no point in going back to sleep only to wake up in the next ten minutes anyway.

She sighed and got up. She brushed her teeth and made her bed neatly. Then she changed out of her comfortable pyjamas and into her school robes. She frowned at her reflection. She looked pale, except for the darker areas under her eyes, and tired.

She pulled a brush through her hair, opting to leave it down, falling to just below her shoulder blades. After glancing at her reflection again she pulled out some makeup that Alice had lent her a couple weeks prior, and began to dust on some powder concealer.

She put on a coat of mascara as well, making her eyes stand out even more with the contrast of black to shocking green. She glanced in the mirror again; satisfied with her reflection she slipped on her shoes and slung her bag on her shoulder, leaving the dormitory.

She approached the boys' staircase wearily. Lily wasn't exactly sure what she was doing anymore. Her end of the bet was to do everything the Marauders do, and when she was done she would be granted freedom. Freed from James Potter. She would no longer spend her past time thinking of clever ways to reject his date offers/demands. She would no longer hide every three mornings and dread the possibility of running into him. Who knows? Maybe she'd even get a boyfriend and for once wouldn't have to keep it a secret from the rest of Hogwarts population in fear of him being hunted down and jinxed.

Although, so far none of this had been what she expected, not at all.

She stared at the staircase for moment longer. There were no charms on the boys' staircase. Apparently the four great founders of Hogwarts trusted the girls far more than the boys. As she slowly ascending the staircase she began to question whether their trust was still deserved by the current female population at Hogwarts.

She entered the Marauders dormitory quietly. At first glance she assumed the four boys were still asleep, all the beds appearing to be occupied.

_I woke up this early, got ready, and came up here, and they're asleep?_

Lily heard someone move and her gaze swept over the beds again. Then she realized what she thought was a sleeping body was really just rolled sheets and a haphazardly placed pillow.

_Oh._

She looked to her left to see James, folded into the space of the side of his bed and his nightstand. His knees bent and his feet flat on the floor, sitting with his back against the bed and with a book in his right hand, his left arm on his knee with his fingers in his hair.

He looked up as she walked over to where he was.

**When'd she come in?**

She sat down on the edge of his bed, her heels resting on the bed frame. "Good morning," he said with sunny smile looking up at her.

Lily couldn't help but give in to the smile tugging at her lips. "Good morning," she returned. Despite the fact that she wasn't a morning person, and was strongly against taking part in any sort of conversation that began before _at least_ seven thirty, Lily found herself nudging James shoulder with her knee, scooting down to sit next to him on the floor.

"What are you reading?"

James blushed a bit and Lily laughed.

"What?" James asked.

_Never thought I'd see the day James Potter was embarrassed._

"You're _blushing_," Lily whispered with a wide smile. She reached over and plucked the book from his unprepared hand. She marked his page with her index finger and turned the book to see the cover. Only, it wasn't a novel cover, it was just brown leather.

She turned the book over again and opened to where her finger had marked.

_Oh…_

It was a drawing of a broomstick. His broomstick, she assumed. It was detailed perfectly, with the patterns of the wood grain and everything. It looked like it was done with a thin piece of charcoal.

**What is she thinking…?**

Lily slowly began to flip the page, waiting and glancing over at James to see if he'd protest at all. When nothing was heard from him and he gave a slight nod she flipped the page over gently, trying not to smudge the drawing.

This one was of the quidditch pitch, the wide oval taking up the entire page, the goal posts barely making it on.

Lily turned the page again and saw hair. It was the back of someone's head.

_Is this…?_

"Who is this?" she asked.

**Witty or…**

"You. Don't know the back of your head like the back of your hand?" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

**That was terrible.**

Lily let out a short laugh.

_He drew…the back of my head?_

**Is explaining going to make this worse? …Probably. Oh well.**

"Sorry. I mean, I guess drawing you doesn't need an explanation but…I'm rubbish at drawing faces so…"

"Oh." Lily blushed a little. She was caught between feeling flattered and violated.

They heard someone stir and looked up to see Remus slowly waking.

"Good morning," Lily said quietly.

Remus rubbed at his eyes. "Morning song, laly," he replied through a yawn, still groggy from sleep.

_Song, laly? Prongs and Lily?_

Lily stood up and handed James his book back. James stuck the book under his bed and then got off of the floor and checked a clock on his nightstand.

**Six twenty.**

He was already in his school robes, only missing his shoes and possibly a brush through his mess of hair.

Remus rolled out of bed and shook his head a bit, as if trying to rid himself of the tired feeling that weighed him down. He pulled on the bottom of his rumpled t-shirt and then walked out of the room and into the bathroom.

Lily looked at James. "Are you all like that in the morning?"

James seemed to consider this, then nod. "Some worse. But don't you judge, you're forgetting we caught a glimpse of a less than awake Lily Evans yesterday."

Lily glared. "We can't all be morning people."

"You're not exactly a night person either though…" James said. He went around his bed to his trunk, to get his shoes, putting him the perfect place for Lily to kick him.

"Shut. Up." She punctuated each word with a firm, yet still light, kick to James' side.

James grabbed both shoes as he pushed her leg away, his hand lingering a moment longer than necessary on the back of her calf, warm and making her skin tingle.

_What the-_

James let go and began to put on his shoes. He jumped up as he finished and went over to Sirius' mirror, the one he had put up on the wall because apparently he needed to be able to see himself more often. Narcissist.

James ran a hand through his hair. It still stuck up at odd angles and he had a cowlick in the back. He sighed and grabbed a comb, running it through his hair.

Most of it was neat, but there were still some parts that just didn't want to match the rest. James glared at his reflection.

**Well now it just looks ridiculous. Worse than before.**

Lily gave him a funny look before walking over to where he was. She held out a hand for the comb and James handed it over.

She stood on her toes to comb down the back of his hair and then when she had gotten it looking neat she shook her head.

_It doesn't look a thing like him. _

She hesitantly raised a hand, not quite sure, and then ran it through his hair, stepping closer to him.

She smiled as she finished, then returned her heels to the ground. Then she realized how to close to him she was. So close she could lean forward and her nose would be pressed against his neck. He smelled like a mix of cinnamon and teenage boy, the scent that just envelopes teenage girls whenever they're near it.

She looked up at him and realized her lips were just a fraction of a centimetre away. Lily's eyes widened and green locked on to hazel.

Memories of their kiss the night before seemed to present themselves in both their minds.

…_you…don't…step back…_

**So close. Just…**

_Step back. Step away…_

Her mind told her one thing but the message wasn't coming across very well to her feet. And she just stood there frozen.

"Okay, I'm awake. Good mor-" Remus stopped and looked at the distance- or lack of- between Lily and James. He shut his mouth and was about to back out of the room.

His voice brought Lily's attention back to what she was doing. "There," she whispered. She moved away from James quickly, angry with herself.

_What the hell are you doing Lily? Are you bloody insane? Yesterday was bad enough, and until you deal with that you stay away. As far away as you possibly can._

**Shit Prongs. You can't just…it was lucky she didn't kill you yesterday. But you can't just… This isn't the plan. Scaring her away won't help you. **

Lily began to go through her bag, looking for something. A book maybe. Anything to keep distract herself and hide her embarrassment.

_This'll do._

She pulled out a romance novel, something Alice had talked her into reading, and opened to a random page.

It was one of those cheesy, predictable, and overall mushy novels. But Alice loved it and, judging from how worn out and nearly broken at the spine the book was, she had read it many times.

As Remus was getting ready James turned to Lily. "Which one do you want?" he asked, indicating the two occupied beds. "Difficult to Wake or Difficult to Get Up?"

_Is there a difference…?_

Lily thought about Sunday morning and how they had literally flipped Peter out of his own bed. Then she considered how angry Sirius had been after being woken up.

_Although Sirius was hung over and was hit…Peter just didn't want to get up…_

"I'll get Peter," Lily decided.

James shrugged and went over to Sirius while Lily went over to Peter.

"Wake up," she cajoled softly. She shook the boy's shoulder gently much enough to shake him a bit. "Peter, you need to get up now." She spoke like mother, waking a toddler from a nap.

James gave raised an eyebrow at her tactic.

Peter stirred and then opened his eyes. Smiling as he saw Lily's caring face above him. "Good morning," Lily greeted. "James and Remus are already up, you need to get ready."

Peter sat up, "Good morning Lily," and then he was out of bed and gathering his things to get dressed.

Remus and James stared at Lily in amazement.

**That's some sort of miracle.**

"What?" Lily demanded self-consciously.

The two boys looked at Peter, then Lily. "He never gets up that easily," James told her. "We usually have to drag him out."

Peter heard this statement and gave them a pointed look. "Well Lily wakes me up _nicely_. You people yell and throw me out of sleep."

Lily gave him a look of sympathy. "That's awful Peter. You know, the way a person wakes up has a huge effect on the their attitude towards the rest of the day."

Peter sighed, "I suppose that's why my days are always so rotten. Thank you Lily, you've given my day hope."

Lily just smiled in response.

Remus and James both had questioning expressions as they watched the exchange.

**Let's experiment.**

"Wake Sirius up too," James instructed. When he saw Lily's look of 'excuse me?' he added, "Please?"

_Alright…_

Lily went over and sat on the edge of Sirius' bed. She gently pulled the covers from over his head to his shoulder before repeating the same motions she had done with Peter.

She shook his shoulder gently, "Sirius…Sirius-"

_It's weird talking to Black like this._

"-it's time to get up…wake up Black…"

Sirius grumbled a bit as his eyes blinked open.

Lily took her hand off his shoulder. "Breakfast will be starting soon, you need to get ready."

"Alright," Sirius agreed. Lily stood up as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and got up.

"Done," she told James. "Happy?"

"How'd you do that?" James stared at her in amazement.

_Do what?_

"Wake them up?" Lily asked after a moment. At James confirming nod she laughed. "That's how Alice wakes me up. It's pleasanter. And for someone who isn't a morning person, like me, it's a much better way to start the day."

"That rhymed," Sirius pointed out as he left the room.

"You want to wake up the rest of the boys?"

"What? No."

"Please? I want to see if it works on-"

"James!" Lily interrupted. "I'm _not_ waking the entire tower. It's not even seven o'clock yet, they don't _want_ to be disturbed."

"Fine," James sighed. "Let's go wait in the common room then."

* * *

Lily all but ran to meet Alice for Herbology. The four of them almost made her stay until they compared and inspected her schedule to theirs and saw she wasn't lying, she really didn't have that period with any of them.

She met Alice halfway to the greenhouses, just as she was heading out.

"Hey."

"Hey Lils, how're you doing?" Alice greeted.

Lily grimaced a bit. "Okay, I guess. But I was hoping a I could steal you from Frank as my partner today, there are some things I want to talk to you about."

"Like what you did in that closet?" Alice raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes…except not like _that_," Lily gave Alice a look. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Well where's your mind if you know what I meant?" Alice retorted.

_I have been corrupted._

"Can we just get to class please?"

"Whatever you say Lils."

* * *

Herbology wasn't very interesting. They were spending the entire class simply _observing _the plants they had planted a week before.

Normally this would bother Lily greatly but it seemed to fit her purpose then so she didn't mind. As Alice scribbled down notes on the texture of Fanged Geraniums, while Lily held the plant with gloved hands so Alice could safely touch the leaves.

Though they had worked with the plant in previous years, they were supposed to be looking at it more closely now.

"So what did you need to tell me?" Alice questioned interestedly.

_Where to start?_

"Well, I-I kissed him last night."

"Oh my goodness. I wouldn't have guessed it," Alice remarked sarcastically.

Lily frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alice knocked Lily's hands away so she could get a good look at the colour of the petals.

"Nothing. Just…well, everyone knows you did…otherwise how'd you get out, right?"

_Oh Merlin…she's right…everyone knows…_

Lily shook her head.

"So how was it?"

"How was…what?" Lily prodded.

"Kissing him?"

"Um…good?" At Alice's questioning look Lily corrected herself, "Terrible." Alice looked shocked. "Um, wonderful?" Even more shocked.

_What am I supposed to say?_

"I…don't know?" Lily sighed.

"Well. I'm just going to conclude that you enjoyed it."

"Ye-maybe. But I…Alice I don't like him," Lily said.

"Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?"

"I don't know!" Lily cried.

"Is he really that bad?" Alice wondered aloud.

Lily scratched down the approximate size of the plant before answering. "He's…not as bad as I thought he was…Not to say he's an _angel_, not at all, but he's not as big-headed as he was before."

"But you don't fancy him. Not even a little bit."

"Are you doubting me?" Lily asked.

"Maybe."

_What kind of a best friend are you?_

"And _what_, may I ask, makes you doubt me?"

"Well for one thing I've never heard you quite so stressed over a guy. Let alone the fact that you feel the need to remind both of us that you _don't_ like him."

"Because I don't!" Lily screeched. "I really and truly don't."

Alice looked at her pointedly. "I think you do."

_I…_

"Not in that way at least," Lily's voice took on a sad tone as she spoke. "Maybe…possibly…there's a chance…maybe as a friend…"

"Well that's a start," Alice muttered. Lily pretended she hadn't heard, not sure how to respond.

"So, all in all how's Marauder Week coming along?" Alice enquired.

Lily inhaled deeply. "On Saturday we…" Lily trailed off.

_I can't tell a thing. Do things like quidditch count though? Better safe than sorry….right?_

"Tiring," Lily finished finally. "They're four, ridiculous, teenage boys. Insane really. I'm never quite sure what's happening."

"Sounds fun."

"It...is…sometimes."

"And your normal life gets boring... sometimes." Alice handed Lily her quill. "You could win this thing, Lily," Alice reminded.

_Yeah..no more James Potter._

* * *

A/N: Okay so there's chapter fourteen. I would really be happy if I could get three hundred reviews with this one. Please. Or I'll have to pull one of those 'I won't update until you review' shananigans.

ANother note is, I don't know if you've heard of them but the Merlin Awards, like an oscar type thing on here. The nominated stories are pretty good and there's a James/Lily section so you all might want to check that out. It's a forum with links.

and question: I met a man who was allergic to something weird yesterday. What is he allergic to?

Thanks for reading!

Anyways,

Scarlett


	15. To Be a Marauder

James, Remus, Sirius and Peter all sat in History of Magic, bored to death.

While Binns droned on about some war that took place in some year with some people who couldn't deal with some problem. None of them were paying attention, they had their books open in front of them and were quite playing the roles of 'interested and focused students' very well.

James subtly reached back into his bag and pulled out four identical notebooks. Still staring straight ahead at the board, he slid one over to each of the Marauders, keeping one for himself.

James grabbed a quill and inkwell and began writing.

**This class is boring as hell. **

Sirius was replying before the message even finished appearing on his page.

_**Why the hell do we show up to this?**_

_Because if we don't we'll fail. Or at least you and Peter will. Prongs and I could probably get by alright._

Hey! 

_**Yeah, hey! Wormtail and I do good in our classes!**_

_WELL. You do well in your classes. And that's only true because you get other people to do the work for you while you both slack off._

_**Seeing as you're the ones who WORK to do really well and WE are the ones who don't work at all and still do WELL, I think we need to reconsider this 'smarts' business.**_

**Shut up you dolt. I actually pulled the four-way notebooks out for a reason you know. While Lily isn't here I want to talk about what's going on…**

_Go ahead._

_**Alright.**_

What happened?

**Two things: 1) I almost kissed her this morning and 2) I was thinking about telling her about the animagi stuff I mean, I think**

The word 'animagi' was instantly scratched over by the other three participants of the conversation. James sighed.

_Let's talk about the second one later, okay Prongs? It's not a good idea to put that kind of stuff in writing._

_**No. We can talk about it now. It's not happening. Forget it. We can't trust her that much.**_

Yeah, I don't know…

_We'll talk about it later. Now drop it._

James looked up from the notebook to watch Remus' expression.

In order to tell Lily about them being animagi Remus would have to explain his being a werewolf. Sirius, Peter, and James had known about it since their second year, and had spent the better part of that year trying to first get Remus to admit and tell them the truth and then convince him that they were truly okay with it.

Remus sat with his quill in hand, staring down at the notebook.

He didn't look angry or upset. He looked worried and stressed. James decided he'd talk to him privately later.

_So that first one…is that what I walked in on?_

**Yeah.**

James was relieved to see the conversation moving again.

**Sorry about that. **

_It's alright. _

_**You almost kissed Lily in front of Remus? How insensitive! **_

_Shut up Sirius._

**Shut up Padfoot.**

Continue.

**Right. See, thing is, I think she almost kissed me too. She likes me.**

_Prongs maybe_

James waited. The sentence never finished. It should have been followed with a very long ellipsis.

**What?**

_**Mate, you shouldn't get your hopes up.**_

**It's been more than six years. I don't think I'm getting my hopes up, I think she's finally realizing she loves me. For real.**

_And that's a definite chance. But Prongs, until you know for sure you shouldn't _

**Get my hopes up?**

_Yeah._

**You're supposed to be patting my back and saying 'congrats.' Not telling me I'm wrong.**

_**We're not saying you're wrong.**_

_What kind of friends would we be if we just agreed with everything you said anyway? We're just trying to make sure you don't get crushed IF you're wrong._

**Well**

James' writing was halted as he heard the Professor's voice gain volume.

"Come on! This is exciting stuff!" he spotted the four boys in the back. "Thank you Mister Potter! Mister Black! Mister Pettigrew! Mister Lupin!" he exclaimed with delight. "Look at them, they write furiously, absorbing all the information! Follow their lead; show some _enthusiasm_ for this class. This is the most exciting, _magnificent_ stories!"

James had never heard the Professor quite so enthused himself. James nodded along.

Next to him he heard Sirius mutter, "If this is exciting, I'd hate to stick around for boring."

"Thank you boys," Binns nodded at them from the front, "I'm sure your notes are going to come in handy for the upcoming exam."

James shut his notebook. "Yes Professor. I think I've got all the notes I need."

There was a collective sigh from Remus and Sirius. Peter just sat quietly, not sure what to make of anything.

James pulled his History of Magic book in front of him and began to read the chapter. And that was the end of the conversation.

* * *

As the Marauders walked through the halls with Lily and Alice with them, more than a few heads turned.

People had been slowly taking notice of the amount of time Lily was actually spending with the four boys. The male population was beginning to wonder what it was exactly the four boys were doing to reel the redhead in. As far as they knew Lily was just 'playing hard to get' with James (the female population had a number of rumours going around about why she refused James' constant date invitations) but suddenly she was trailing along _with_ the Marauders? And the girls all wanted to know what Lily had done. How had she gotten in with the infamous Marauders? Seeing as Lily still wasn't _dating_ James, the rumour mill was going wild with other possibilities.

Lily glanced around the corridor, at the glaring girls and the boys who kept nudging each other and raising eyebrows.

_What's going on?_

"Alice they're _staring_," Lily whispered.

Alice laughed. "Of course they're _staring_, Lils. They're curious."

"About?"

"Why you're here." Alice gestured to the four boys she stood alongside. Lily looked at them, they were chatting about some new promotion they heard Zonko's was running.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well it's uncomfortable."

"If their staring is uncomfortable then wait until you hear the rumours," Alice muttered.

Lily's eyes widened. "Rumours? What rumours?"

**Rumours? What are they talking about?**

"About you and James," Alice lowered her voice and James strained to hear over Sirius' and Peter's yammering.

"What about me and James? They found out about the bet?"

"No, not exactly." Alice looked at the students around them who were slowly returning to their conversations. "They don't know about the bet at all really. That's why they've been coming up with their own ideas of what's going on."

"Wait…" Lily winced with worry. "What have they come up with?"

Alice wouldn't meet her gaze. "Well…some people think you two are dating secretly…some people think James is blackmailing you…or he has you under the imperius…"

Lily laughed. "And? Is that all?"

"Some people think you're just…using each other," Alice continued carefully.

"Using each other?" Lily repeated.

"Yeah. Lily…for…you know."

"Using each other for…for…" Lily couldn't even begin to say it.

Alice let out a huff of air impatiently. "Yes Lily, using each other for sex."

The four boys turned at the word.

**Did Prewett just say 'sex'? What **_**are **_**they talking about?**

"Quiet!" Lily hissed.

_Oh my gosh. They think…and could Alice __be__ any louder?_

"Sorry," Alice apologized, quieter now.

"What gave them _that_ idea?" Lily demanded.

Alice shrugged. "Well it doesn't really appear like you're dating...and you two did come out of that closet looking a little dishevelled… We're teenagers; it's the first thing that comes to mind!"

"_We_'re?" Lily asked accusingly.

"_They_, they are," Alice corrected.

"Good."

**What are they talking about?**

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had stopped their conversation, trying to hear the girls'.

When Alice and Lily both fell silent, the topic halted, Lily wanting to hear no more and Alice afraid of what else she would let slip, the boys gave up.

"James," Remus said suddenly, "I want to talk to you about that second question from History of Magic."

_We had History of Magic homework? Maybe it's being assigned tomorrow…_

**I guess I won't be the one to bring it up then.**

"Alright. To the library then?" Remus nodded in agreement and James turned to Lily. "You go on with Sirius and Peter; we'll meet you guys in the common room."

_So they do get their work done._

**Go.**

Lily left with Sirius and Peter while Remus and James walked off to the library.

_This is going to be awkward._

* * *

James and Remus sat down at a table. They were near the back of the fairly deserted library.

James sank into the chair, and then sat forward with his forearms on the table.

Remus seemed on edge, fidgeting in his seat.

"So…" James started awkwardly.

Remus shook his head a bit before beginning.

"Look, I get that you want to tell Lily about the whole…transformation thing but-"

"But you're not cool with it. It's alright. Forget it," James interrupted.

"Let me finish." It came out frustrated, yet with a hint of amusement. "I trust Lily. I know she won't tell about my," he quoted James, "'furry little problem.' But she has strong morals. She's far from stupid. She knows that your end of all of this isn't legal."

**I thought about that.**

"I know." James sighed. "I know, but, I think she likes me. And if she does, then she won't tell. And- before you tell me not to get my freaking hopes up- if she doesn't, then, in fear of being my girlfriend, she won't tell."

"Prongs…what if she's in between? Then what? We can't risk it if there's even a slight possibility." Remus leaned forward on the table. "We can't test her limits with this. We need to know before we throw everything in."

James ran a hand through his hair. "I get it. You know, thanks for at least thinking about this. Sorry I even brought it up though."

"Prongs," Remus snapped slightly, "I'm not saying we can't tell her. Obviously you have to talk to Padfoot and Wormtail about this but…we'll see."

**Such a parent line.**

"What if we test her limits beforehand?" James suggested. "Start off small and get bigger. Like Hogsmeade tomorrow night or something?"

"What if she stacks it up? Like points," Remus countered. "I'm not trying to ruin your plan, but what if she does it like points?"

**What?**

"Like quidditch." Remus explained, "Her thinking might end up being 'Breaking the school rules? Sixty points. Breaking Ministry rules? Like catching the snitch. Except…everything would be negative."

**Hadn't thought of it that way…**

James rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Right, right."

"I'm not worried about my big secret. I trust Lily and it's not illegal to be a…well you know." Remus smirked, "It's your asses I'm worried about. If you go crashing down I swore to it I'd go to Azkaban with you."

**Moony.**

* * *

Lily sat in the common room with Peter and Sirius around the fire. She curled up with her knees to her chest and her back against the couch, her hair tied up in a ponytail. She watched as Sirius and Peter tossed Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans back and forth, pelting each other.

On the odd occasion one of them would actually catch the candy she'd hear a loud, "Earwax!" or "Quidditch Pitch!" or possibly "Liquorice!"

It was sort of entertaining in one of those 'it really shouldn't be but it is' kind of ways.

Sirius threw a bean up and caught it in his mouth. "Peppermint!"

"Fluke," Peter decided. "No way you can do that twice."

Sirius handed him the bag. "Hit me."

Peter threw bean and arched it towards Sirius who leaned and fell backwards for it, choking a bit as he came up. He had caught though. "Ha!" Sirius shouted in victory.

Peter nodded, impressed.

"So Evans," Sirius said a few moments later, "how goes it?"

_Goes what?_

"I mean, how does it feel to be a Marauder?" Sirius clarified.

Lily smiled. "Not so bad. You guys are still moronic as ever, but it's pretty decent actually."

Sirius shrugged, "Moronic is more fun."

_More words to live by._

James and Remus entered the common room and found Peter, Sirius, and Lily with a quick look around.

They sat themselves on the couches and stole a few beans from the bag Peter held.

**Lily, Sirius, and Peter…thought it would be more awkward.**

"So what do you guys feel like doing?" James asked.

They all shrugged.

**Then we'll do what I want to do.**

"Well dormitory then. We haven't pulled anything since last Sunday, I think we're due."

Sirius' face lit up at the suggestion. The four of them were up and moving before Lily had even stood.

_Wait. Due for what?_

Once they had all reached the boys' dormitory they kicked off their shoes and threw their ties off to the side, relaxing on their beds. Lily settled on the floor between James' and Remus' beds.

Remus peered down at her.

"You don't have to sit down there you know," he told her.

_Well…oh._

Lily shrugged and got up from the floor to sit on James' trunk, since the top wasn't cluttered with books like Remus'.

She turned herself around on the trunk to face James and Remus- and Peter from the corner of her eye.

"So, what exactly are we talking about here?" Lily asked curiously.

Sirius began talking a mile a minute, obviously having put some thought into this.

"I was thinking we go mayhem, madness not amusement. And no real target either. We'll get everybody. I think we should hit them in the Great Hall again. Or maybe throughout the corridors as they go to class. Or the staircases! We could-"

"Wait!" Lily yelled. "I wanted to know what we were _actually_ talking about."

The four boys looked at her as if she was insane.

_What?_

"A prank," Remus told her. "We're planning."

_Planning?_

At her confused expression James said, "You didn't think we did it all on the spot did you?"

"We're good," Sirius smirked, "but we're not that good."

"These things take planning," Peter piped. "We always plan."

"Oh. Sorry. Continue," Lily encouraged.

"Right," Sirius gave her an odd look. "So mayhem. _Pure mayhem_."

"Where?" Remus asked.

"The Great Hall?" Sirius suggested.

James considered this.

**The last time we did that…no. The teachers catch on too quickly. It'll end too soon.**

"No." James shook his head. "Too short lived. If we get them between classes it'll spread slowly, we can watch it, enjoy it."

They nodded in agreement.

"So the corridors, then?" Remus took note of this. "What about after first period?"

Again they nodded.

"It'll have to be quick then," Lily warned.

All four of them turned to look at her, surprised she was participating.

**Alright then. She's in.**

"Why?" Peter squeaked.

"You'll still have to make it to class on time," Lily explained. "Otherwise they have proof. McGonagall can assume it's you-like everyone does-but unless she has proof or you don't have an alibis, she can't do a thing.

"You need to be in class with everyone else."

**Smart.**

"Okay," Sirius nodded. "We'll work around it. Now, what are we doing?"

_I once had a dream where all the…that could work._

"I had a dream once, where I was late to class," Lily started.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Evans, we don't really care about your version of a nightmare."

"Let her talk," James ordered, chucking a book at his head.

Sirius ducked. "Fine Evans, go on."

"Right. Well see, as I was going through the halls-in my dream-my alarm clock kept going off. Continuously. And then it would scream. At me," Lily added. "We could do that. I don't know…"

James agreed emphatically. "It could work! I mean we could duplicate our alarm clocks a ton of times…set half of them to go off every couple minutes. And then charm half of them like howlers. Screaming and yelling."

"Alright," Peter and Sirius approved in unison.

"Where are we putting them?" Remus questioned.

"The armour," Lily answered without thinking. "I mean, it'll take them forever to figure out where it's coming from. And then getting rid of all of them will be a pain in arse."

_I should know. How many of their pranks prefects had to clean up._

"And that's always a bonus," Sirius grinned.

James grabbed his alarm clock from his nightstand, studying it for a moment.

"You think the shock will give old McGonagall a heart attack?" Sirius wondered.

"Pomfrey could save her," James replied dismissively.

"Well then there's only one way to find out."

And there was a mischievous glint in each of their eyes.

Lily watched with interest. They were like children on Christmas. They were giddy, and scheming, and excited. And Lily was beginning to feel it too.

_Oh my Merlin. I'm becoming a Marauder._

* * *

a/n: And there's chapter fifteen. I hope you liked it and it was posted fast enough. Thank you all sooo much for getting this to 300 reviews. And I hope you continue the pattern and review this chapter as well. Also, to all of you who have been asking about Lily finding out about Remus' 'Furry Little Problem' there you have it. Now you'll just have to wait and see.

Question: What's my favourite prank?

Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing.

Anyways,

Scarlett


	16. GoodyTwoShoes Gone Bad Morning 4

_This is two days in a row. Up before six o'clock. What has gone wrong with the world?_

Lily changed into her school robes, measuring her hemline to her knees out of habit. Perfect as always.

She ducked to look in the mirror as she went to grab her bag.

She looked tired. But not zombie-looking, like the day before. No, she looked tired, exhausted even, but in a good way. She looked like a grown up version of an eleven year old Lily on the morning of September first. She'd tried to stay up the night before, afraid that she'd fall asleep and realize the letter and owl and visit from the Headmaster were all just a long dream.

And as she looked in the mirror at her seventeen year old self she smiled. She considered using a bit of makeup, just to brighten her appearance a bit, but decided against it.

She shot a look at a sleeping Alice.

The day before Alice had pointed out the fact that Lily had been wearing makeup. That wouldn't have been so bad if Alice hadn't then went on to suggest that it was for a certain handsome, messy-haired, seventeen year old boy.

And _that_ was what set her off. And the last words she spoke to Alice before turning out her lights were, 'Shut up.'

Lily shook her head and instead just put on a coat of mascara. Then she quietly padded out the dormitory in her socks, carrying her shoes, trying not to wake the other girls.

She slipped into her shoes before going up the boys' staircase.

_We've got work to do._

**Prongs, there's work to be done.**

By the time Lily entered the Marauders' dormitory the four boys were up and running around.

"Where's my tie?" Peter cried frantically.

Lily walked in and looked around. She pulled a red and gold striped tie off a bedpost and held it up, "Peter? This yours?"

Peter nodded and grabbed it with a quick 'thanks'.

James was jumping on one foot, trying to tug on his right sock. Remus was shoving books and parchment into his bag and Sirius was desperately trying to get his robes on.

"Black," Lily said. "Black!" she said louder. "That's the wrong way."

Sirius looked at his robes and tilted his head. "Oh." He chuckled and turned it around.

"Inside out, Black," Lily laughed.

Sirius flipped the robe over and turned the sleeves in. He shrugged it on and grinned at Lily. "Thanks."

James balanced with his left ankle over his right knee as he put on his shoe. Finally they all stood up.

"Ready?" James asked.

Remus looked around the room. He held up a sack and opened it to see inside. "I got four alarm clocks. Lily, you brought yours?"

_Right._

Lily reached into her bag, pulled out her own alarm clock, and handed it over. Remus put it into the gray, cloth sack.

"And don't forget your wands," Lily reminded. "Alright, let's go."

_Don't be such a baby Lily. Grow up._

"You scared?" James smirked as they headed out of the dormitory and to the common room.

Lily shook her head, "Not really."

_Oh my word. Your voice is __shaking__. Lily Evans, get a grip!_

**Your face begs to differ.**

"Really?" James fought back a smile and Lily hit his arm.

"Yes! Really." Lily took a deep breath and let it out nice and slow. She lowered her voice. "Maybe. I don't know." She smiled, "It's scary in one of those thrilling ways. Like I could soar. But there's always a chance of falling."

James grinned. "You get it."

"I get what?" she whispered while they filed out of the portrait hole.

James shrugged a bit. "This. I mean, this is the rush. This is what we feel. This is why we do it all."

_And it's worth the possibility of getting caught._

Lily gave James a knowing look.

_I get it._

They went through the corridors quietly, or, as quietly as four seventeen year old boys get. Lily was amazed they had gotten away with as much as they had if they were always that loud.

"Now, how exactly are we going to get away with putting our messages in the clocks? They'll have our voices as proof."

**Shit. She's right.**

"Well…" Remus paused to think it through. "We'll change our voices. You know, use accents, change pitch, sing."

"You think that'll work?" Lily questioned doubtfully.

"If it doesn't we still get to watch," Sirius shrugged.

Lily's eyes widened and she opened her mouth indignantly. "It's not lack of entertainment I'm worried about. I'm _worried_ about the _consequences._"

"And _we_ couldn't care _less_," Sirius shot back mockingly.

**You're pushing it Padfoot.**

"We'll get detentions at least. And you," Lily poked James' arm, hard, "and I will lose our badges."

**Good point. **

_If I lose my badge for this James is going to have hell to deal with next week._

James ran a hand through his hair. "We won't lose our badges and we won't get caught, okay? Change your voices like Remus said and only two of us will do scream into the clocks. That way that can't use numbers as proof against us, alright?"

_Fine._

"Prongs," Sirius spoke tightly, "can I talk to you?"

"Sure," James responded. They walked off to the side and Lily sighed huffily.

_You go have your powwow I'll just stick around here thanks._

"What are you doing?" Sirius demanded. "Again, you're catering to her every wish."

"It's not for her. It's my badge too you know. And I already got a detention early this week. McGonagall already threatened my badge." James told him.

Sirius threw his hands up. "Who cares about the freaking badge!"

"I do!" James exclaimed.

Sirius gave him a look. "Since when do you care?"

"I don't," James admitted. "But Mum does, and I'm not letting her down. _We're_ not letting her down."

Sirius froze and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

**With Dad out tracking You-Know-Who it's the least we can do to ease her worries.**

"And _she_ cares too, right?" Sirius asked, looking pointedly over at Lily.

"Obviously," James said quietly, also looking at Lily.

"Whatever." Sirius glanced back at the three others still waiting and nodded. "Let's just get going, okay?"

James nodded in agreement and they went back to the group.

"Let's keep going," Remus suggested.

They walked on, continuing to chat, down the corridor.

Lily shushed them as they rounded the corner. "Okay, so how are we recording the messages?"

"With the-" Remus started.

Lily shook her head. "I meant, where? We can't wake the entire castle screaming."

They looked around.

**Hadn't thought that far in.**

Lily sighed and whispered, "_Muffliato_," casting the charm around them. "Alright, you can scream now, but careful, they may be able to hear some noise depending on how loud."

"Padfoot and Lily can do the honours," James decided, handing them each a duplicated alarm clock.

_What? Why me? I don't want to…I don't have a choice. Fine._

"Thanks," Lily accepted insincerely. Sirius and Lily began to put their messages into the clocks.

_Ugh. What should I say? Change my voice…whatever, just scream._

Lily screamed loudly, at the top of her lungs, a bloodcurdling cry.

Sirius, on the other hand, began to sing. When they were finally finished Lily sighed, breathing heavily with tired lungs.

"Okay, let's get going," James announced.

They went around the castle, duplicating the clocks numerous times to put into the suits of armour.

"_Geminio_," Lily said clearly, pointing her wand directly at the clock. She set the alarm precisely and then quietly got it into the suit of armour.

They figured the alarms should start as the students were moving from their first class. So the first alarm was set for ten o'clock, by Sirius, and then Remus set his for a minute past ten, and then James' for two minutes past ten, Peter three minutes past, and Lily four minutes past. Then from there they each did four minutes from the first alarm they set. By ten o'clock one alarm would be going off and then another one for every minute after that.

It was going to be awesome.

_Done. Lily Evans, Lily, Lily Evans. You are wreaking havoc on this school._

**Done. Now we relax.**

* * *

"This is your second last class to work on this potion," Slughorn informed from the front of the room. "You will do well to complete it."

Lily sent James to get the rest of their ingredients while she worked with the cauldron. By the time he came back and laid out the ingredients Lily was stirring away.

James started to cut the crane fly wings and Lily continued to stir.

They were almost finished, ahead of majority of the rest of the class. Well except for Severus Snape.

Lily looked over at her former friend.

_It's been good this year… I wonder if he's heard the rumours… Sev would die._

She shook her head sadly and stared down at the potion, telling herself she wouldn't think about. Of course, that just brought it to the front of her mind.

_He hates the Marauders. Ever since that day on the train… Slytherins. Stupid prejudice. Lily, it's been two years. Get over it. He wasn't that great of a friend anyway then. Call someone a mudblood… foul git._

**What is she looking...? Snivellus. **

James glared at the back corner of the room, where Snape was hidden in the shadow of the corner. He was bent over a book, looking bored as ever.

_Back to work._

Lily continued to stir and James prepared the ingredients, adding in the wings one by one as the book instructed. Lily began to hum softly, distracting herself. But it was something sad and sweet, not her usual bouncy melody. It was still melodic, but she hummed with her head hanging low and a sad sort of smile gracing her features.

_Don't be shy, just let your feelings roll on by…_

James didn't comment on it. Just added the last of the wings into the potion and then sat quietly.

He watched as Lily moved closer to the cauldron, closer until she was leaning right over it.

**Oh Merlin, it's finished. **

James jumped up and put the lid on the cauldron.

The clang it made as it hit the top made Lily jump. "What are you doing?"

"It's finished," James told her. "It was drawing you in. I thought you would fall in and drown."

Lily laughed, "Thank you? For saving me from drowning in love."

"Drowning in love?" James raised an eyebrow.

"The potion," Lily said hitting his arm. She took her seat and raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Evans?" Slughorn asked with a smile.

"Oh, James and I are finished."

"Excellent," Slughorn clapped his hands. "Fill a vial and put it on my desk please. Then you have some time for yourselves."

Lily nodded and filled the vial as instructed. James took it to Slughorn's desk before he went back to his seat. "So, what's it smell like to you?"

"Pardon?" Lily gave him a funny look.

"Amortentia. To me it smells like pine trees, apple pie and strawberries," James grinned.

_Apple pie and strawberries?_

"Oh. I don't know. Like spring rain, and chocolate. And something else I can't quite place," Lily paused thoughtfully. "Something like baking," she smiled.

"Spring rain?"

**Oh right. Spring rain, she said, when it pours so hard you can't see out windows.**

"Yeah," Lily laughed a little to herself and James smiled. "So, what about you? You said pine trees, right? Why?"

"At home, the quidditch pitch is surrounded by pine trees," James explained.

Lily gaped. "You have your own quidditch pitch?"

James blushed, looking uncomfortable.

**Great. Then maybe she'll call you spoiled and conceited. Set yourself up perfectly.**

"Um, yeah," James answered.

"Whoa. How big is your house?" Lily asked.

"Large?" James mumbled unsurely.

Lily's eyes widened.

_Right. Old family money and all that. His dad's an auror too, right? None of my business. Don't ask._

"Anyway," James started, "I practice and fly in the summer and during breaks with Sirius. I learned how to fly there too, good memories and stuff. The smell of pine trees reminds me of flying."

"Wait. With Sirius?" she asked. "How close do you two live?"

**Down the hall from each other.**

"Pretty close," James laughed.

"What?" Lily questioned, confused by his laughter.

"He-well Sirius moved in the summer before sixth year, he lives a few rooms away," James told her.

"Oh. What about his family?"

James shook his head, "That's not for me to tell. Sirius and his family disagree. In a big way."

_Drop it Lily. Don't push._

"So I guess you two are brothers then," she said. "That's sweet."

"You know, normally it would be disconcerting to be called sweet."

"Normally?"

"Well from you I'll just take it as a compliment," he winked at her and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Time's up!" Slughorn called from the front of the room. "Please turn in a vial of what you have completed."

There were a few groans and panicked expressions shared throughout the room.

"Those of you who finished early are dismissed," Slughorn awarded.

James checked the time while Lily gathered her things.

**Nine fifty-seven. Time for a quick lesson.**

"Let's go. We'll catch up with Moony and them later." James and Lily left the room and walked into the corridor. "We have three minutes before they go off."

_Three minutes. This will be…interesting._

"Can you keep a game face?" James turned to with a smirk.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Game face?"

"It's important in pranking. Ties it all together." James looked at her seriously as he continued, "You need to be able to keep a straight face. Play along to stay unsuspected but still have fun with it. You need to keep a game face, never look too satisfied."

"Right," Lily agreed slowly.

"So let's see Miss Evans' game face." James turned her by her shoulders to face him squarely.

Lily let out a short laugh, then composed herself. She stood tall and put on a calm expression, a smile tugging at a corner of her lips. The smile was hidden under her expression, only slightly peeking out, appearing as a smirk.

James grinned. He reached out and touched the corner of her lips lightly. "Perfect," he said. "Now come on," he dropped his hand to pick up hers, "let's go watch the fun."

By the time they reached the first ringing suit of armour, eight other were going off as well.

Kids were jumping, clearly startled, as they made their way to class. The younger students and girls were screaming loudly, running through the halls, away from the noise. But each minute it would gain on them, moving don the corridors, and no one could tell where it was coming from.

And then the suits of armour began to scream. Or the clocks inside did.

_Oh my Merlin, that's me._

Lily and James walked towards transfiguration with slight smiles, and confident strides through the ringing corridors.

"_I am slowly going crazy, 1 2 3 4 5 6 switch! Crazy going slowly am I 6 5 4 3 2 1 switch!_" A very different version of Sirius' voice sang, filling the halls along with the ringing.

The alarms beat both Lily and James to the transfiguration classroom and they were greeted by Professor McGonagall yelling at the passing students.

"Get to class! Now!" She waved them along, "This will be dealt with later. Stay calm." She spotted the two heads and she sighed. "Mister Potter, no doubt you had something to do with this."

James put on an expression of innocence. "Professor, I was with Lily all morning."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at James before her gaze swung over to Lily.

_Oh no._

"Can you vouch for this, Miss Evans?"

"He was with me all morning," Lily assured. "Is there anything we can do to help the situation?" she asked, trying to hide a smile.

"That's quite alright, Miss Evans. You two just get into class."

Lily let out a sigh of relief after passing by the professor and going into the classroom.

James and Lily took their seats near the back of the room and pulled out their books. Lily opened her mouth to say something but James cut her off.

"Now, before you say I lied, I'd just like to point out-"

"You didn't," Lily returned his interrupting. "You were with me all morning."

"Yeah." James looked surprised.

**She's not upset. Wow.**

Lily shook her head with a laugh. "I must be a real goody-two-shoes then, huh? McGonagall didn't ask any questions once you gave your alibis."

**Oh. Well…**

"So you have a good reputation. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Sometimes," Lily muttered.

"Well we're working on that." James nudged her. "You handle this event really well, game face and all. And tonight we're going out."

_Like out out? Or out of the castle?_

"Not a date or anything," James corrected quickly. He smirked, "Unless of course you _wanted_ to-"

"Not a chance."

**We're working on that too.**

"Ah, it was worth a shot," he shrugged.

"So where are we going?" she asked, bringing them back to the subject.

"You'll see."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. But anyway, there it is. I hope you like it. Please review it would mean a lot. Question: What do you say to Voldemort when he asks too many questions?**

**Also, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen in this story and I'll definitely consider it. I've gotten a couple of people asking for fluff and/or another kiss between Lily/James ;) So let me know.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	17. Putting Up a Fight

"Did you hear it?" Sirius asked excitedly. He was practically bouncing in his seat at lunch, still raving after having kept it all in throughout transfiguration.

"How could you not have?" Frank Longbottom leaned into their conversation. "I swear it's still going. Or maybe it's just the ringing still echoing in my ears." Frank tapped his right ear as if trying to get the sound out and make a point.

The Marauders shared a look and Alice raised an eyebrow, nudging Lily. "You had something to do with this then?"

_You can't say a word. You can't tell her no matter how much you want to. Let them handle it._

Lily waited until, in unison, the four boys answered, "We'd tell you, but then we'd have to kill you."

_What is that? Another Marauder catch phrase?_

Frank and Alice laughed and Frank raised a hand for each Marauder to slap. He shook his head, "Well _whoever_ _it was_ it was brilliant and I_ applaud _them."

**Hey, it was all Lily's idea.**

James gave Lily a knowing smile and, with his eyes locked on hers, said, "Yeah, so do I."

_Is that a…is he giving me credit?_

Lily smiled back at him.

**She's smiling at me.**

Alice nudged Lily's ankle under the table with her own. Lily turned to mouth '_What?_' but Alice was already answering her unspoken question with widened eyes and her gaze switching between Lily and James.

_Oh shut up Alice! _

Alice wiggled her eyebrows and Lily glared.

"Shut up!" she ordered.

Alice smirked, "Oh, I didn't say anything." She held up her hands innocently.

"_Shut_. It," Lily bit out.

"Did…did we miss something?" Remus asked.

"Alice?" Frank prompted.

Alice gave Lily a look from the corner of her eyes before shaking her head. "I didn't say a thing…honest."

**I'm confused.**

"All righty then," Sirius nodded slowly. "_Any_way Prongs, when's our next quidditch practice?" And the conversations picked up again.

Lunch ended at what seemed like too soon, and then they were off to classes again.

The five of them couldn't help but burst out laughing as they walked towards charms and they passed the entrance hall and heard Sirius' voice, still ringing loud and clear, "_ I am slowly going crazy, 1 2 3 4 5 6 switch!_"

"So we are going…out of the castle tonight, right?" Peter asked as they went down the corridors.

James confirmed with a nod and Lily watched on with interest. "But we'll have wait until after Lily and I are done patrols. I'm thinking we'll leave at ten o'clock."

_That's past hours. I'm going to be out past hours. __And__ I'm leaving the castle! Oh my Merlin, if James gets me expelled for this I swear on everything living he will not see morning._

"Sounds good," Sirius agreed.

Lily grinned with just hint of doubt mixed into her expression.

**It'll be okay.**

* * *

**Damn patrols.**

_I hate patrols._

Lily and James walked the corridors in silence. Comfortable silence. With only the sounds of their feet tapping and hitting the floor as they went, it was serene.

_I'm not sure if I like the castle better during daylight, filled with life and energy, or at night, when it's quiet and peaceful. _

"What are you thinking?" James whispered.

Lily stopped and turned to him with a smile. "Isn't that a girl's line?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know, that, like, girlfriend line." At his blank look she continued, "You should know. I'm sure you've had those clingy girlfriends who, every five minutes, lean over and ask what you're thinking."

**Oh. Yeah I know them.**

James nodded, "Yes. But this is different. I genuinely want to know. With them, 'What are you thinking?' doesn't actually _mean_, 'What are you thinking?' because all they want to hear back is that you're thinking about them."

"Ah." Lily nodded as they continued walking. "Well now I'm thinking that every time I'm with you I'm gaining a little more insight on the mind of James Potter."

"Is that a bad thing?" James enquired.

"Sometimes I worry it is," she muttered.

"What?" James said, not hearing her.

"Not really."

A moment of silence passed between them, both immersed in their own thoughts.

**How far am I now? I mean, our conversations are more than civil and she definitely doesn't think as lowly of me as she did before. She went along with the prank, didn't she? Hell she **_**planned**_** the prank. Maybe Prewett could help me. Or maybe she will. She definitely can. Now it's just convincing her she **_**should**_**.**

_Merlin Lily, what is happening to you? You don't like him. Tolerate him, maybe, but you don't…you don't like him. What are you doing anyway? This week is supposed to be a quick, mostly painless, seven days. Then it's over._

Lily froze in the corridor.

_Oh no. _

James stopped beside Lily. "What's wrong?"

She ignored his question and instead called down the dark, seemingly empty, hall, "Go back to your common rooms. You're not supposed to be out."

"Hear something Avery?" He strode out of the shadows and into sight, along with his friend.

**Mulciber, Avery and Lestrange. **

"Oh look," Rodolphus pointed at Lily, "it's the head girl."

Mulciber seemed to walk lazily towards Lily and James.

"Back to your common rooms," Lily ordered, standing her ground, "_now_."

"Tsk, tsk," Avery sneered. "A thing like you shouldn't be telling _us_ what to do."

"Get lost," James commanded; his wand ready at his side.

"Shut up, Potter," Mulciber glared.

"And while you're at it control that one too," Lestrange nodded towards Lily and Lily's jaw set angrily.

"_Leave_," she told them. "Go back to your common rooms before we get the headmaster involved."

"Dumbledore?" Avery asked. "You're threatening that old kook on us?" His gaze swung to James. "Potty, why don't you just take her and go lock yourselves in a broom closet to shag?"

James stepped forward, wand pointed straight at Avery's throat.

"Get the hell out of our way," Lestrange scorned.

**That son of a-**

_No._

Lily put her hand on James arm and lowered it, moving to turn around. "All of you, back to your common room."

**I can't just stand here and let them get away with-**

"Fine," Mulciber agreed. "It's just what we'd expect from a mudblood anyway."

**That's all the encouragement I need.**

James turned around and punched Mulciber across the face. A crack was heard as his fist collided with the Slytherin's face and Lily winced.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered.

"You stupid-"

Lily watched with widened eyes as Avery raised his wand at James.

"_Expelliarmus_!" She hadn't even realized she had pulled out her wand. But next thing she knew she was ducking to avoid getting hit with Avery's wand and then repeating her actions as she disarmed Rodolphus.

James threw Mulciber to the ground, his head thudding and springing back from the ground.

"James stop it!" Lily yelled.

Mulciber grappled for his wand and jumped up, aiming it at James. "Barbaric," he spat. "Bloodtraitor."

"Can we just-"

Mulciber's wand went from being directed at James to Lily and James' eyes widened.

"_Incarcerous_!" he shouted and Mulciber was immediately bound tightly in ropes. Lily gasped as Avery and Rodolphus moved towards James offensively, having at some point gotten their wands.

"Avery! Get over here and get me out of this!" Lestrange ordered.

James stepped in front of Lily and pointed his wand at Avery.

_I can handle myself._

"_Furnunculus_," Lily said reaching around James. Avery deflected the curse and Lily dodged as it came back her way. She moved to the side, keeping an eye on Mulciber as he struggled in the rope.

Lestrange began to send a curse at James and Lily grabbed his arm.

"Get off you stupid little mudblood!" Lestrange threw Lilly off his arm and James watched as she hit the floor, falling onto her back and left leg.

James delivered a solid punch to Rodolphus' stomach and then smirked as he keeled over in pain.

Avery stood in shock and James looked at him challengingly.

"Potter, my boy, just what do you think you're doing?"

_Oh Merlin._

**Oh shit.**

"Good evening Professor," Lily greeted Slughorn quietly.

"Miss Evans, what is going on here?"

"Um, Mulciber, Avery and Lestrange...they were roaming the corridors past curfew. I-" She looked at Mulciber who was still on the ground, glaring at her with blood dripping down his chin, flowing from his nose.

"Mister Potter you did this?" Slughorn asked, gesturing at Mulciber and Lestrange, Avery being the only one standing.

"Well-"

"He was defending me," Lily interrupted.

"Potter hit first," Avery pointed out.

Slughorn looked around for confirmation. Lestrange nodded as he began to get up from the floor.

"He was provoked," Lily countered.

The professor surveyed the scene before him before sighing. "Mulciber, go see Madam Pomfrey, Avery you may go with him. When you're finished you'll make sure to go straight back to your common room. Lestrange, you can go back to your common room now."

The three of them nodded and Slughorn pulled out his own wand, getting Mulciber unbound. As the Slytherins headed away they shot back nasty looks at the head boy and girl.

_Freaking arses._

**Jackass losers.**

"And you two," Slughorn looked at the two left in front of him, "I expect better from everyone involved in this. You two are done patrols. I want both of you to go see Professor Dumbledore now. And this won't happen again, yes?"

"Yes Professor," Lily assured.

**Probably not.**

James nodded and the professor let out a long, drawn out breath. "Good. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Slughorn continued on his way and James and Lily shared a look. "Alright," Lily started, surprising herself by how calm she sounded, "let's go see the headmaster."

**Well she's taking this well.**

"Oh my goodness," she said. She stepped closer to where he was and looked up at him. "Did you get hit?"

"What?" James asked.

"Your eye," she told him. "It looks like you were hit. It's red underneath." She showed him where by mirroring it on her own face, touching the area under her right eye.

"Oh, yeah, I think Mulciber got a hit in somewhere there. I'll be alright," he shrugged.

_Doesn't it hurt?_

**Oh well. We should go…**

They stood still for a moment before James began to walk to the headmaster's office and Lily followed behind him.

It seemed like the walk to the gargoyle was too short and they were standing in front of the statue too soon.

"_Chocolate frogs_," Lily spoke clearly and the gargoyle turned to reveal the staircase, Lily and James getting on it quickly.

"Mister Potter, Miss Evans," Dumbledore smiled gleefully, "what can I do for you?"

"Professor Dumbledore," Lily began, "Professor Slughorn asked us to come up here. See, we got into a fight with a few Slytherins."

"Who are these few Slytherins?" Dumbledore looked at them through his half-moon glasses. He sat behind his desk, his hands relaxed on his armrests, and indicated for James and Lily to sit.

"Mulciber, Avery and Lestrange," James replied tightly.

"Ah," Dumbledore folded his hands on his desk. "And may I ask what started this…disagreement?"

"They were out after hours," Lily explained. "When we confronted them and told them to go back to their common room they said some…uncalled for things and…"

**And they were being prejudiced arses!**

"They called Lily a…" James trailed off and realization washed over Dumbledore's expression.

"I see." The headmaster shook his head sadly. "Well, I'll discuss their actions with Professor Slughorn later. Mulciber is in the hospital wing right now, correct?"

"Yes Professor," Lily nodded. "I-I'm really sorry."

"I don't need your apology Miss Evans," he told her kindly. "And Mister Potter, while I understand your reasoning in initiating the fight it shouldn't have happened. You are both free to leave."

"What?" Lily asked. "You're not punishing us?"

"Would you prefer I did?"

**What is she doing?**

_No?_

Lily shook her head. "Thank you Professor."

As they left the Headmaster's office Lily let out a sigh of relief.

"That went thousands of times better than I expected." She laughed lightly but James' expression stayed stoic. "Why so glum?" she asked.

James looked at her curiously, a hint of anger lingering in his eyes. "Aren't you upset?"

_What's he talking about?_

"Upset about what?"

Lily couldn't help but stare at his hazel eyes. They were darker than usual- and not because one was bruising- and it scared her a bit.

"What just happened."

"Why would I be upset? I mean we weren't even punish-"

James cut her off with a shake of his head and a hand through his hair. "No. I meant the Slytherins. What they said…"

**That first comment was crude but then they went and called her**

"Because they called me a mudblood?" she questioned sharply.

James tensed at the word and Lily shook her head.

"I'm a muggle born and I'm proud of it. I'm proud of my parents, and I'm proud to call myself a witch. Those boys are prejudiced and cowardly and neither of those traits are going to get them anywhere good in life."

_Those boys are Severus's friends._

Lily swallowed hard. "All it will get them is branding on their forearms and the shame of following someone just like them, if not worse." She smiled, "I'm going to do something worthwhile and good for this world. I'm going to get _much_ farther than them. And when I do," her smile spread to a full out grin, "I'm going to be smug about it."

Lily waited and James slowly cracked a smile. "Well, no doubt you're a Gryffindor. And…about that other thing they said…I-"

"Alice told me about the rumours," Lily cut him off.

"You know, or I hope you know, I would never. I mean I don't-"

"Well I don't think _you_ started them," Lily laughed.

"I didn't," James told her honestly. "And I would never do something like that anyway. Especially not with you."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

_Meaning…?_

"No!" he said quickly. "I meant I don't like you for that kind of stuff. I mean I do, but I lov-like you for a lot more than that. I respect you a lot more than that and-"

**Oh shit, I almost said 'love' didn't I? She's going to hit me. So stupid.**

Lily stood on her toes and rested a hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek sweetly.

"Thank you," she said. "Now you can stop rambling."

James blushed a bit and Lily gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around his torso, his own arms encircling her waist.

"And thank you for defending me," she added. As she returned her heels to the ground she looked up at the area beneath his eye that was now turning purple. She reached up hesitantly and lightly ran her fingertip over it. James flinched a little.

_Ouch._

**Ow.**

"Sorry," Lily apologized. "We should go back to the common room; you need to put some ice on that."

"Okay."

**She kissed me, sort of. And hugged me. I call that progress.**

They headed off to Gryffindor common room Lily's ankle was beginning to hurt along with her lower back from when Mulciber shoved her.

It was like the adrenaline had worn off and the pain was kicking in. It wasn't that bad though, and after everything that happened she really didn't want to complain about it.

"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed as James and Lily walked through the portrait hole. "You're late. You were supposed to-_shit_ man, what happened to you?"

"Thanks mate," James said sarcastically. "I got into a fight, with Mulciber, Lestrange and Avery."

"And you didn't invite me?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "What kind of a friend are you? Selfish, selfish."

Lily laughed. "James, I'm going to go get that ice for you. I'll be right back."

James thanked her and flopped onto one of the couches, Remus sitting beside him and Sirius taking the armchair.

"Where's Pete?" James enquired tiredly.

"Changing," Sirius answered. "He spilt pumpkin juice all over himself at the end of dinner and Remus finally told him he had to change."

James nodded and Sirius' foot tapped excitedly. "So what happened? Tell me Mulciber looks worse than you do."

"He does," James assured. "And there was a definite crack when I hit his face."

Sirius grinned, "What else?"

"Got Avery kneeling over after a hit, but we not too much damage, Slughorn broke it up."

"Damn," Sirius cursed.

"Here," Lily came back down the girls' staircase with ice wrapped in a washcloth. She handed it to James and he pressed it against his eye. "No," Lily told him, putting her hand over his and moving it down. "You can't put it directly on your eye, under your eye."

James smiled lopsidedly a little and moved the ice down.

"Hey," Peter chirped as he ran down the staircase. "Are we still heading out?" Peter looked taken aback by the ice and how injured James looked. "No?"

"Nah we can still go," James took the ice off his eye.

_Where are we going?_

"Well why don't you wait at least fifteen minutes, you should keep the ice on there so it doesn't swell too much," she advised.

**Alright.**

"So, where exactly are we going?" Lily wanted to know.

"To Hogsmeade," James whispered with a grin.

Lily's mouth dropped open and then slowly morphed into a smile.

"You're okay with that?" Sirius asked. "You know we're breaking the rules, right?"

"Yes," Lily replied slowly, "I do."

"And you're okay with that?" Sirius pressed.

"Yes Black," Lily confirmed.

**Come on Padfoot; is it that hard to believe?**

_Siriusly Black?_

"Hm," Sirius gave Lily an appraising look. "My respect for you has gone up Evans. I like you that much more," he smirked.

"Well thanks Black."

He shrugged in response.

Lily glanced at James. "How's your eye?"

"Okay," James said. He put the ice down.

"You ready?" Sirius stood and James nodded.

"You get the map, I'll grab the cloak. Let's go."

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, I hope that was fast enough for all of you.

Question: My favourite show growing up was?

To elizabeththecrazy: I don't, so I'm not offended. And yes, you left me hanging.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Anyways,

Scarlett


	18. Maps, Cloaks, and Angry Drunks

_Hogsmeade._

"So, how exactly are we getting there?" Lily asked Remus as James and Sirius disappeared up the boys' staircase.

"Walking," Remus replied.

"So we're just going to saunter out of the castle and _walk_ to Hogsmeade?"

"Not quite…" Peter told her. Then they pretended like the question was never asked, turning away from her and engaging each other in conversation.

_How nice of you._

Meanwhile James grabbed his cloak and waited while Sirius rummaged through his trunk for the map.

James held the cloak over his head.

**Not as big as it was when we second years…this could be a problem.**

"Hey Padfoot," James said warily.

"Yeah?"

"Well, last year, remember our trips to Hogsmeade under this thing?" James asked.

"Yeah. What about them?" Sirius found the map and jumped back from his trunk in victory.

James sighed, "We were kind of crammed then…I don't think the _five_ of us are going to fit. Pete's feet were out the last time."

"What's your solution Prongs?" Sirius was walking towards the door, map in hand, seemingly unaffected by the predicament.

**Solution?**

Sirius smirked, "You don't have a plan," he taunted. "Do you?"

James returned the smirk, "Here's one: you go as Padfoot and take the long way."

The smirk slipped down on Sirius' face and morphed into a frown, then went into a full-on glare.

James' expression fell. "Padfoot."

Sirius shook his head.

"Do you mind," James asked tiredly, not really meaning any of it, "transforming to get there?"

"Yep," Sirius answered sourly. "I do mind. But I'm going to do it anyway, right?"

**We don't have time for this.**

James ignored Sirius' insincere tone and clapped him on his back on the way out. "Thanks Pads. Got the map?"

"Yeah. I do."

They got down to the common room a moment later, James walking over to Lily with a smile.

"Okay, we're good to go."

"_How are we getting there_?" Lily asked.

"_With this cloak_," James replied, mimicking her tone. "_Why are you talking this way?_"

"Because these two fools refused to answer me," Lily said shooting looks at both Peter and Remus. "And a cloak?"

_What the hell is that supposed to do? I'm pretty sure the whole 'fabric over your head makes you a ghost' stopped being any sort of convincing past six years old._

"Wait." Lily looked at what James held in his hands. "Is that an invisibility cloak?"

"Yes it is," James nodded.

"Smart one, that Evans," Sirius whispered to Remus.

Remus chuckled.

"Here," Sirius handed the map over to Remus.

"Now, Sirius said he…" James trailed off for Sirius to take the hint.

"I'm going to go ahead," Sirius deadpanned. He looked around, "I'm taking Pete with me."

"What? I don't-"

"Come on, Pete," Sirius grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the portrait hole.

"We'll just go ahead," Peter said quickly as he was pulled out the door.

"Alright then," James paused after they had left.

**A couple more minutes for good measure. Make sure they're **_**far**_** ahead.**

"What are we waiting for?" Lily asked.

"Um…nothing," James told her. "Let's go."

As they made their way out of the common room James swung the cloak around them. They were instantly gone from sight.

James held the cloak around and slightly above them as they walked, while Remus focused on the map. Lily was sandwiched between them just trying to keep up with their strides and go with the flow.

"So where did you-"

"Shh," James put a hand over Lily's mouth and Lily made a face.

She removed is hand from over her lips.

"This makes us invisible," Remus reminded in a whisper, "it isn't sound proof."

_Right. I guess questions will have to wait until later. _

They turned down a corridor and suddenly the parchment Remus was staring it became interesting. "Filch," he said, his voice low and barely audible. "Stay left."

Lily gasped worriedly and James froze, shushing her and trying to stop her from hurrying them along.

_We're dead._

**Don't try and run. He'll hear you for sure.**

And then Lily saw Filch walk right by them, muttering to himself without a single glance their way.

James got them walking at a normal pace again and Lily sighed.

"Calm down," James told her quietly. "The only thing we have to worry about is people hearing us. Running isn't a good idea."

_Oh._

Eventually they reached the statue of the one-eyed witch and James quickly pulled the cloak off of them and tapped the statue before speaking the password.

"_Dissendium_."

_Oh my Merlin_.

Lily watched as the statue opened up, enough for a person to just slip through, and at a certain angle Lily could see a slide that led down. To where, she couldn't see.

**Scared?**

Remus looked at James, who was watching Lily, who was looking down the passage way with worry etched on her face.

"Guess I'll go first then," Remus shrugged. He slid down into the passage way and Lily stared down into the dark tunnel.

"Go on," James encouraged Lily.

Lily shook her head, "No thanks. You first."

"Ladies first."

She smiled, "Of course. You first."

**Set yourself up great Prongs.**

"Lily. Just go."

"Why? Are you scared?" Lily asked.

"Like you? No. I've done this tons of times."

"Would you two stop the banter and just get down here before someone hears you?" Remus snapped from the passage way.

Lily looked at James.

"Go," James urged.

"You," Lily countered.

"If I go down there are you actually going to follow?" he asked.

Lily nodded.

_Probably._

James slid down and then waited.

_Go Lily. You heard Remus, he's alright. Now go. Don't think about the possibilities. _

She let out a long breath and then inhaled as she jumped and slid after them.

"What is this place?" she asked the second her feet hit solid ground. Dirt. "_Lumos_," she whispered, the tip of her wand emitting bright light.

"This is a secret passageway. Never been in one have you?"

"No actually. Though supposedly Hogwarts is full of them," she said. "So where exactly is this one? And where are we going to end up? And another thing, how-"

"One question at a time," James interrupted. "Trust me, we're going to be here walking for a while."

"Plenty of time for a question and answer session," Remus said.

"Wait. For a while?" Lily repeated. "How long is a while?"

"Just over an hour I suppose," Remus told her. "Never really…timed it…"

_Of course not._

"So when did you find it?"

"Second year?" James guessed. "I don't know. Somewhere around there. We were small enough that it was real easy to get through the statue."

"Where are we going to end up?" Lily wondered worriedly again.

"This one will take us to the cellar of Honeydukes," James said.

"Oh my Merlin," Lily smiled excitedly, "we're beneath Hogwarts!"

"Yeah," Remus laughed, "we are."

"What's so funny?" Lily demanded.

"You," James said, now chuckling himself.

_Watch it Potter…_

"No, no," James shook his head quickly. "Not _you_, not really. It's just…it hasn't been this exciting for us in a while."

"Oh." Lily tilted her head in thought. "Well no matter how many times I did this, I swear I would _never_ get bored of it."

The two boys shared a grin.

"So…what else have you boys been doing behind the scenes?" Lily's eyebrows drew together, a glint of mischief shining in her eye.

"Give her the map."

**Let her see for herself.**

Remus shrugged and the map over to Lily.

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP…wow…_

Lily's mouth dropped open. She was looking at a masterpiece.

_Oh my Merlin. Hogwarts. And…Dumbledore and Alice and…everyone._

Lily watched the labeled dots of her peers and professors move around the map, each going about their business.

"Where did you _get_ this?"

"We made it," the two answered her proudly.

"No, really."

**Well thanks Lils.**

"Yes, really," James said, insulted.

"Oh. You're not kidding?" Lily's eyes widened.

"No," James told her flatly, "we're not."

"Sorry," Lily apologized sincerely. "I-it's not that I don't think you two are capable-"

"Four," James corrected. "Peter and Sirius did a lot of work too."

"-but this would take a _lot_ of work," Lily continued. "Not only work but this is…_intricate_ magic. Remarkable."

**We like to think so.**

"It's insane," Lily laughed. "Now why can't you apply this sort of brilliance to our studies? I mean, you do well, but you could be doing…phenomenally."

"Well we can't do _everything_," James said. "If we spent all of our time working on the crap work they give us, we'd never have time for our own brilliant creations." He tapped the map to prove his point and Lily shook her head.

"Either way, you four are brilliant. You're more than people give you credit for." Lily handed the map back over to Remus. "I don't understand why you guys don't let anyone in on how bright you really are."

"Watch your step," James cautioned, pointing out the small dip in the earth they were about to go over. "And, I don't know. We're prouder of the map than an O on an essay I guess."

_I suppose. I mean, anyone can read a book and write about it. An essay only takes so much effort. But this map? This is an accomplishment._

"When did you all make the map?" Lily asked curiously.

James continued through the passageway, kicking a pebble in front of him. "Late fifth year, finished it early sixth," he said slowly.

"What about the cloak?"

**Hm, she doesn't sound disapproving at all. This is going loads better than I thought.**

"Oh, I got that from my dad first year," James said. "It was one of those heirloom things. I'm supposed to pass it down to my son one day too."

"So how often do you guys sneak out then?"

The questions went on and on and James was more than happy to answer.

Lily wanted to know everything. How many passageways they had found, where each one led, how long the map took to make; everything. And a good half hour later she had gotten all her answers and was all out of questions.

**That's it? No more questions?**

_It's funny how much everyone at Hogwarts thinks they know about the Marauders. They think they've got them pegged perfectly. __**I**__thought I had them pegged perfectly. But, look at this. A map of Hogwarts and everyone in Hogwarts, an invisibility cloak, __and __I'm in a secret passageway heading to Hogsmeade for crying out loud! And nobody knows about any of it._

Eventually they reached the more uphill point of the passageway and Remus sighed.

_Holy crap! Ow! My ankle. Lily, how the hell did you fall on this thing?_

"We're almost there."

_Thank Merlin._

James looked back at Lily. "This is going to be uphill for a bit. Just be careful, okay?"

_Believe it or not I __am__ capable of walking, James._

"Sure," Lily called back.

A few minutes later Lily pointed her wand straight ahead and was able to see a door just slightly above them. "Is that it?" Lily asked, now tired from walking.

"Yep, that's it." James pushed the door open and coughed a bit as dust came down. "Moony, you first, then you can help Lily up."

Remus followed James instructions and pulled himself up and through the trapdoor. Once on the floor of Honeydukes cellar he kneeled and reached down to take Lily's hand.

"Thanks." She grabbed Remus' wrist, and he did the same with hers, then with one hand on the floor and the other gripping Remus, she pulled herself up. James put his hands out and supported her back to make sure she wouldn't fall back in.

As soon as Lily and Remus had moved out of the way James jumped up and slid onto the dusty cellar floor himself. "Alright, I say we get some chocolate and then head out to the Shrieking Shack, and from there The Peak."

"Wait. You guys take stuff from here?" Lily's expression went from excited to stern.

_That's stealing. They can't just-_

"It's not stealing," James told her quickly, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I mean, yeah, we take stuff sometimes, but we always leave more than enough to pay for it. We've heard Ambrosius- Mister Flume, the owner- talk about it. He's fine with it."

Lily sighed. "Honestly?"

**We'd never…**

"Absolutely," James assured.

"Okay," Lily nodded finally. "Sorry."

"S'alright."

They went up to the shop and looked around for a while. Everything looked delicious as always, even though it was darker than usual in the night.

They ended up getting more Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans-apparently Peter and Sirius had brought their supply down to zilch- and some liquorice wands, but mostly chocolate. This was fine by Lily, being a chocoholic herself.

James dropped the money behind the counter, declining both Remus and Lily's offers to help pay thrice times, and then they left the shop.

James held out a piece of chocolate for Lily, then Remus, before grabbing one himself as they went towards the Shrieking Shack, 'hoping' that they'd find Sirius and Peter along the way.

The three of them hadn't only made it half way to the shack when Lily pointed to her left.

"Is that Black?" she asked, trying to identify the figure ambling away from them. When they saw the smaller, plumper, figure chasing after him, they knew.

"Padfoot! Wormtail!" Remus shouted in their direction.

Peter turned around and spotted the others. He squinted for a moment trying to identify them.

**Pete, who else calls you Wormtail? Just get the hell over here!**

Peter finally decided he knew them and began to wave Sirius over, trying to get Sirius to follow him. After a few failed attempts of getting Sirius' attention, Peter gave up and went over to Remus, James and Lily by himself.

"Hey Pete, wh-"

"He's drunk," Peter interrupted.

"What?" James asked.

_Again?_

"_He's drunk_," Peter repeated to him slowly.

James stared at him, "How?"

Remus looked over to where Sirius was. They watched his silhouette near a few steps, then turn back on his heel and sway his back a few steps. The four of them watched as he raised a bottle to his lips and took a swig.

"That's how," Remus sighed.

**You idiot Sirius. Firewhiskey? **

"When did he get that?" James ran a hand through his hair. Sirius was still stumbling around, but no one was making a move to go help him.

"If I heard him correctly," Peter started, "he grabbed the map _and_ the firewhiskey."

**I didn't see the firewhiskey.**

"Prongs," Remus said, "we should probably go help-"

"Merlin, he's such a dumbass sometimes," James cut in. "What the hell was he thinking?"

_He had to be thinking something. Black's an idiot but he's not that much of an idiot. Who drinks for fun by themselves? Nobody. Not for fun anyway._

Lily spoke up, talking to the group while looking over at Sirius, "Maybe we should go talk to him," she suggested.

They looked at her like she was insane.

_Well fine._

"Okay, _I'll_ go talk to him then," she decided. She waited, hoping someone would volunteer to go with her. Silence was the only 'response' she got. Well, that, and more odd looks.

_Okay then. I __will__ go by myself._

Lily let out a long breath and then marched herself over to Sirius.

"Black," Lily said cautiously as she approached him. "Black!" she yelled.

Sirius turned slowly and wobbled a bit. He saw Lily and glared. "Whadyou want?"

"What's wrong with you, Black?" she asked. "Really."

"Thisss all you'rre fault," Sirius slurred. He angrily pointed a finger at Lily who raised an eyebrow at him.

"My fault?" she repeated. "What the hell are you going on about Black?"

**What's she going to say to him?**

"You ann Prrongss!" he yelled. "Urr fault! You think you can do wha-evverrr you friggin wa-" He poked Lily's shoulder, making her lean back a bit. She winced. Her lower back was already bruised from her fall earlier and leaning back cause an ache to spread throughout it. She bent over a bit to try and lessen the aching pain.

**Holy shit! Did he hit her?**

James was over to Lily in seconds. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm fine," she told him.

Sirius was glaring at James. James turned to look at him angrily, "You hit her?"

"He didn't hit me," Lily said quickly. "He's just angry about…something."

"Seee," Sirius growled lowly.

"See what?" James asked. "You're being an arse. And how the hell are we going to get back without getting caught."

"Jusss llike we caaaame. I'llll trannssform like you toll me to," Sirius' eyes narrowed as James' widened in panic.

_He's still not making sense._

**Shut up. Shut the bloody hell up.**

"Shut up!" James ordered.

"No. I'lll go baack to the casstle as Pah-foot."

**What the hell is he doing?**

"Shut the hell up! You can't just-"

"What is he talking about?" Lily questioned slowly.

"I can beee a dogg," Sirius slurred.

And then he proved it.

* * *

**A/N: Quick note for those of you wondering, Lily and James' bet started on Saturday and it's no Wednesday**

**Sorry for the mistakes in this. I haven't really been editing the chapters that much (just quick spell/grammar checks) but this one may or may not be even worse. **

**Either way thanks for putting up with it and reading anyway. And please review, it means tons.**

**Question: My favourite way to walk is? **

**To Elizabeththecrazy: so I guess you hate me more now, huh?**

**To Angelica: Well there's the update and hope you enjoyed it. Sorry you stayed up. But it was great to hear that. Though I don't really think this is THAT great of a story.**

**Please review!**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	19. Secrets No Longer

**A/N: Okay so sorry this took so long. Life got chaotic. I hope you understand. Anyways let's just get on with it. Do what you came here for: read! :)**

* * *

James' gaze shot from Sirius to Lily.

…

_Omygoodness. _

Lily let out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

James looked at the large, black, dog standing before him furiously. He let out a long string of curses.

The dog looked at Lily, then went a few steps back before transforming back to his true, human state.

"Angry?" Sirius stumbled on his feet and James fist clenched at his sides.

"What is this?" Lily asked, referring to what she had just witnessed.

Remus was suddenly beside Lily. He placed a hand on her shoulder, warily watching James and Sirius as he gently turned her around.

"Wait." Lily stayed frozen in her spot, refusing to move. "What the hell is going on?"

Remus stiffened beside her. "Lily."

Something about the way he said it, like he was feeling just as unsettled as she was, made it seem like a good idea to go with him. She gave James and Sirius a glance back before following Remus.

_What is going on?_

Lily combed her fingers through her hair in frustration. "_What_ the _hell_ is going on?" she demanded.

Remus paled. He wouldn't meet Lily's eyes.

"I'm going to go…"

"Mediate," Remus finished weakly for him. "Go on."

Peter went over to Sirius and James and Lily stood directly in front of Remus.

He could feel her eyes on him, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Remus," she said firmly.

"I can't-"

"Sirius is an animagus," Lily stated flatly.

"Maybe-"

She cut Remus off with a shake of her head. "Tell me."

James pushed Sirius back, not that he wasn't stumbling in various directions already.

"What the frig did you do?" he yelled.

Sirius pushed James roughly. "I'm sick," he spat, "of Evans being at the top. She's a fricking _girl_ Prongs. But everything revolves around Evans now!"

Sirius was still tripping over his words, but his message was coming across loud and clear.

**Holy shit Sirius. That's what this is about?**

"What is wrong with you?" James asked, shaking his head condescendingly. "You just don't get it, do you? I love her."

"She's got you on a leash," Sirius said. "It's ridiculous. She's taking my brother away!"

"_You're_ being ridic-"

"I was your friend first!" Sirius roared.

Peter ran and stood between the two. "Maybe we should just go back!" he squeaked helplessly.

"Damn Prongs!" Sirius shouted.

"I don't think we should-" Peter started but Sirius began to advance towards James again and Peter cautiously put himself between them.

**Merlin. I can't deal with this right now. Not while he's drunk. There's no point, he's not going to retain any of it anyway.**

"Yeah," James said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Let's just go back to the castle."

"I _dunwunna,_" Sirius groaned.

**Well stomp your foot and flail your arms while you're at it. Throw a tantrum.**

James just shook his head. "We're going back to the castle. Follow us if you want."

He had barely gone a few steps when he could hear Sirius trailing behind him.

**Shit. Lily's probably pissed.**

_Remus won't say a word. Peter's run off. That's it. _

"Are any of you ready to tell me what's going on?" Lily huffed as the boys approached. They all shrunk back a bit. "Fine," she said coldly, her tone clipped. She walked away from them and sat down on a large boulder a few metres away.

**Okay, not probably. She ****is**** pissed.**

_Merlin Lily you're being childish. You're not getting your way so you'll just sulk in the corner? But this is ridiculous! I mean I put up with their little games, and dealing with drunkards, and quidditch, and now they won't even tell me what's going on?_

James glanced at Lily. "Moony we should-"

"You should tell her," Remus cut in hastily.

**What?**

James voiced his thought and Remus closed his eyes tiredly for a moment before letting out a long breath and opening them again. "You should tell her everything. I mean, Sirius already blew it and if you don't tell her now, when you do she's going to be mad as hell."

James considered the truth to this. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more. "It's not for me to tell."

Remus grimaced. "Prongs can't you-"

James shook his head. "Please Moony. She's not going to care. She'll freak out over the animagi stuff more than your furry little problem." With anybody else James would have been more careful about saying this; afraid they'd take it the wrong way like nobody cared for them at all. But with Remus it was what he wanted to hear, what he needed to hear.

Remus shook his head. "It's not fair to her. The bet's still going on; she'll be forced to hang around me after."

"Moony, you're being ridiculous. She's not going to-"

"And what if she does?" Remus interrupted.

"Easy. She won't."

**Moony, come on.**

James patted Remus' shoulder as he passed him and Remus headed towards Lily.

**Thank you.**

Lily crossed her arms. Not sure if she was angry with herself or angry with the four boys she was around.

"Lily?" His voice was tentative as he slowly walked up beside her.

Lily turned to look at him angrily, but slowly her features softened and her arms loosened. "Yes?"

He stepped back a bit. "I'm ready to tell you what's going on," he told her, his voice a quiet whisper. He cleared his throat, "I-"

_Well finally._

Lily moved over on the boulder. "You want to sit?"

Remus sucked in a sharp breath of air and shook his head no. "I'll just stay here thanks."

"Remus. Sit," Lily commanded. He sat, putting as much distance between them on the boulder as he could.

**Quit watching them. Go find help Peter with Sirius or something.**

"So," Lily said simply.

Remus sat straight, rigidly, and he clasped and unclasped his hands undecidedly. Finally he wiped them on his trousers. "I…don't know where to start…"

"How about Sirius?" Lily suggested. "And where his…_dog-ness _came from."

"Well he's an animagus," Remus explained.

"Illegally?" Lily asked.

He nodded.

Lily's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a bit. "He-"

"They," Remus corrected.

_They? 'They' who? 'They' what?_

"Sirius, Peter…and James," Remus told her. "They're all animagi."

Lily jumped up. "But that's _illegal_. They could go to Azkaban! Not to mention how dangerous it is! They could get seriously hurt!" She paused. "And what was Black thinking? He's drunk he can't go around transforming he'll hurt himself!"

"Well I don't think we have to worry about that anymore," Remus said quietly. "I think the three of them have more than perfected it."

_But that's __really__ complicated magic. To perfect it you'd need to be…well ridiculously talented…and even then it would __still__ take a lot of work._

She sat back down on the boulder. "How long have they been doing this?" Lily asked quietly.

Remus sighed, "Since second year. They've been able to transform easily since fifth."

"Why are _you_ telling me this?" Lily looked at him. "What, were they afraid to tell me themselves?"

"No," Remus said.

"Well," Lily's eyes narrowed at him curiously, "what about you?"

"I'm the reason," Remus stated.

_The voice of reason? The only one with enough sense to __not__ want to go to Azkaban?_

"Lily…"Remus tried to find more space on the boulder. He tried to find more space to move away, to distance himself from her. "I'm a werewolf."

_Well I sort of already knew that._

"Oh. What does that have to do with their being animagi?" she asked.

Remus looked taken aback. "Er…well they found out how…painful my transformations can be, and how if they are others around me it makes it more bearable. I'll never remember any of it. But it still helps. They…they keep me in check when I can't myself." He chuckled sadly, "Considering day to day occurrences I guess they're returning the favour."

_So it was to help Remus? …well, I mean, it's only illegal because people could abuse the ability, right? And if it was to help Remus…oh poor Remus. _

"I don't expect you and I to continue being friends I mean I-"

"What?" Lily cut him off. She took in his pale and saddened face, the way he was now slouched with his head in his hands. She pulled her legs up onto the rock and hugged him, her arms slipping through his own to encircle his waist. "No," she told him firmly. "Remus, I kind of already knew. I cannot _believe_ you'd think I'd give up our friendship over something like-"

"You knew?"

_Oh…well…_

Lily let go of him and sat back on the cold, rock surface. "Well…yes. Severus. He knows as well," she tucked her hair behind her ears. "We never talked about it really. I figured it out myself mostly."

"Oh."

"I don't want to push but…if you don't mind my asking…when did you become a werewolf?" Lily enquired hesitantly.

Remus shrugged, not feeling obligated to reply, but wanting to anyhow. "When I was young. I was bitten by a werewolf in a forest near my house. My parents…there's no cure, there was nothing they could do about. I didn't think I would go to school. Then Dumbledore accepted me here, knowing my condition."

_I've always liked Dumbledore._

"I go to the Shrieking Shack every month. I'm what haunts it," he grinned.

Lily laughed. "So all this time we've just been staring at an old house."

"In second year Sirius, James, and Peter found out about it all. They no longer believed the whole 'my mother is ill' bit," he sighed. "They're the ones who insisted on the transformations. I tried to talk them out of it but-"

"But it's _Sirius, James and Peter_," Lily finished for him.

He nodded.

"Okay." Lily stood from the boulder dusted off her clothes. "Well?" Remus got to his feet as well. "Come on."

She marched over to where James and Sirius were standing silently, Peter between them. James' arms were crossed tightly, his expression stoic.

**Lily!**

He turned to face her, arms dropping to his sides, waiting anxiously for her verdict.

She studied him carefully. "I want to see what it is," she said decidedly.

**What?**

"Your animagus," she clarified.

"Oh. …Sure." He stepped away from his friends and Remus moved Lily and himself back as well.

In one fluid transition James went from a young man to a large stag. He traipsed around in circle while Lily took it all in.

_A stag._

She stepped forward slowly and James stopped moving. She raised a hand and trailed her fingertips lightly down one of his antlers.

"Prongs," she whispered.

James nodded and then began to nuzzle his stag-form nose in her hair and shoulder. She pushed him away and rolled her eyes with a smile. He transformed back, grinning.

Once he was back on only two feet he nudged Remus. "So she's not mad then, eh?"

"No," Remus said. "She's not."

**Oh thank Merlin.**

"I take it we're going back to the castle," Lily said.

"Yeah," James looked at Sirius, his voice remaining impassive. "Sorry we couldn't make this more entertaining for you."

_Oh trust me, it was entertaining._

Lily just shrugged in response.

"Moony, you and Lily will go back under the cloak…with Sirius," James instructed. "Pete and I will go back the usual way."

**Sorry Lils.**

_Great._

* * *

The walk back to the castle seemed longer than the way there. Remus led the way with Lily in the back, Sirius stumbling along his way between them. On more than one occasion he stopped suddenly, causing Lily to either run smack into him or jerk back and almost fall over herself.

By the time they got back into the castle Lily was limping, her ankle throbbing from walking on it again. Remus swung the cloak over all of them and they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Lily was wincing with each step and doing a sort of hop-skippy thing while trying move around in a huddle under the cloak.

_Stupid ankle!_

They went into the common room silently, pulling the cloak off of them and spotting James and Peter on the couches. Remus tossed the cloak to James who rolled it up and tucked it beside him.

Then Remus began to usher Sirius up the stairs, Peter trailing after them. Lily fell onto the couch with a sigh of relief, pulling her ankle onto her knee and frowning at it. She started to massage it a bit, wincing as she put pressure.

James looked over at her and Lily looked up in surprise, having not noticed that he hadn't gone with the others.

His gaze switched over to her ankle, and the pained expression she had with her hands on it. "What happened?" he asked, concernedly.

"Nothing," she said quickly. She turned away slightly and James moved closer.

He looked at her ankle, swollen a bit, and moved her hands away. He put a hand on it and she flinched and slapped it away.

"Ow! Don't touch it!" she yelped.

He retracted his hands quickly. "Sorry." He leaned closer again and Lily moved back, glaring at him a bit like he was threatening.

He gave a pointed look and when she returned it he held his hands up.

**See? I won't touch.**

_Don't you dare think about poking it._

"Merlin Lily," he said after a minute, "what happened to it?"

"Lestrange," she said bitterly. "I fell on it when he knocked me back."

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital wing?" he offered.

"I could get there myself," she told him. "And no, I don't want to go. I think I'll just go to bed thanks."

She stood carefully and then tried to walk normally to the girls' staircase. However, she failed miserably at this and gave in to limping halfway there. She went up the first step and James watched her wobble back a bit. He shook his head.

**Just admit you need the help Lily. So stubborn.**

He finally got up and went over to her. He scooped her up in his arms, bridal style, and then began to carry her up the stairs.

_Oh Merling we're going to fall. The slide and…_

"Why aren't we sliding down the stairs?" she demanded.

"Would you like to?" James asked.

She shook her head and James smirked. "Then it's for me to know and for you to find out."

"Ow!" Lily flinched in his arms as he his arm slipped down to her bruised lower back.

He froze. "What? What happened?"

She shook her head and relaxed in his arms, strong yet not bulky.

_I'm in James Potter's arms._

James continued up the stairwell and then to the seventh year girls' dormitory.

He gently placed Lily down on the one unoccupied bed and she sighed. She put a hand to her lower back slipped out of her outer robe, twisting herself around to try and see what she had done there.

James watched with raised eyebrows and she looked at him. "I fell on my back too," she explained. "Don't ask me how that's possible. I don't know."

He walked around her to get a look for himself.

"Potter," she snapped, in a whisper, trying not to wake the other girls.

"Relax. I'm just looking for any signs of bruising," he assured.

She reluctantly lifted the back of her shirt a bit higher and heard him suck in air through his teeth.

"What?" she asked.

**Ouch.**

"Nothing. …Well it certainly is bruised," he started. "Purple. Very purple."

Lily felt the warmth of his hand running lightly over it.

"Are you sure you don't want-"

"No," Lily shook her head and scooted away from his touch. She pulled out her pyjamas. "I'll deal with it in the morning."

**Again. Stubborn.**

_I need to get changed…_

Lily pushed his shoulder. "You need to get out," she whispered.

"Why?" he grinned impishly and she slapped his arm.

"Get out," she ordered.

"Alright, alright." He looked at her seriously. "Hey, thanks for…well how you handled everything tonight. Remus freaks out over that stuff."

"He's still Remus," Lily smiled.

"Yeah," James agreed. "And sorry about Sirius…he's-"

"Upset," Lily said. "I got that too. You shouldn't be sorry though. I just can't believe he got drunk twice in a week."

"It's not a regular occurrence," James said with a shrug. "I wouldn't have figured it all out tonight but he's drunk, not like he'd remember it later anyway."

_That's true._

Lily forgot about pushing James out the door and pulled her jumper and tie off, slipping her pyjama shirt over her white button-down. From under her pyjama shirt she took off her school shirt.

**She's changing in front of me. Holy crap she's changing in front of me! **

James averted his gaze and turned away, his cheeks reddening.

_What is he…? Is he blushing? Well I wasn't going to let him see me naked. _

Lily laughed a bit as she slipped her socks off, careful of her ankle, and then pulled her pyjama pants on underneath her skirt. Then she slipped her skirt off.

"If you don't want to watch me change you can always leave," Lily reminded him as he stared at the wall behind him.

"Oh, it's not that I don't want to," James let out a shaky breath. "I just know I _shouldn't_."

"How…_gentlemanly_ of you," Lily appraised. "But, I'm done now, you can turn around if you'd like."

**Oh thank Merlin.**

He turned around and Lily watched as his eyes travelled down the length of her body and then back up.

_Checking me out? It seems so long since I caught him doing that. Last week._

Lily crossed her arms self-consciously and pulled down the covers and crawled into bed. James pulled the covers up over her shoulders and Lily gave him a sleepy smile.

"Goodnight Lily." James brushed back some of the red hair spilling onto her face.

Lily gave him a teasingly annoyed look and he smirked.

"Goodnight James," Lily returned.

James bent and kissed her forehead, his lips soft against her warm skin. Her eyes fluttered close and he pulled back.

James briefly considered kissing her on the lips as well, feel her lips against his.

**No.**

"Hey, tomorrow you-"

"Shut up and get out Potter," a sort of groggy voice commanded from behind him.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Prewett," James said tiredly. "I'm on my way out."

* * *

Author's note: well thank you so much for reading. I really hope you all review even though this is late. But the more you review the more apt I am to update soon.

Question: coke or pepsi?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	20. Morning 5 and Getting Along

Lily woke up early the next morning, as usual this week, and got ready quickly. She dressed in her uniform and twisted the hair back that got in her face. She put her outer robe on her arm, figuring she'd just shrug it on later; before they went to breakfast.

_Crap! That stupid ankle! _

Lily bit her tongue to keep from screaming in pain and frustration. She had barely slept the night because of her injury. There was no comfortable way to sleep. Her back was bruised and sore, uncomfortable to sleep on. And sleeping on her side or stomach hurt, twisted, and put pressure on her ankle.

She grabbed her shoes and carried them into the corridor and to the staircase, then limped her way down the stairs and then across the room. Hopping, she went up the boys' staircase and into the seventh year boys' dormitory.

_They're asleep. They're all asleep. I woke up early, hopped my way over here, and they're asleep. I'm going to kill them…. Starting with him!_

Lily stormed over to the mess of dark hair lying on a clean white pillow, a pair of glasses resting on the nightstand. Just as she was about to knock the sleeping boy awake she paused.

_He looks so peaceful. Angelic…_

She smiled down at him. "Oh well," she whispered. Then she threw the covers off of him and ruffled his hair.

"What the-" James jolted and rubbed his eyes.

**Padfoo-oh.**

"Lily? That you?" James asked.

_Is his eyesight really that bad?_

"Yes, it's me you moron," Lily snapped.

"You know, you're lucky I decided to wear a shirt _and_ pants to sleep last night," he drawled. "Or maybe that makes you unlucky. I'm too tired to sort this out."

"What the hell are you doing asleep?"

**Can't say I'm asleep anymore.**

"You people say that I have to get up at six every morning and then you're here sleeping-" she checked the clock on his nightstand- "past six-o-seven. Explain please."

James propped himself on his elbows. "Well." His voice was rough with sleep and he _ahem-_ed to clear it before continuing. "I tried to tell you last night but you were half asleep and Prewett sent me out."

"Tried to tell me what?" Lily asked.

"That it's Thursday," he groaned.

"Oh James, I'm so very proud you've learnt your days of the week," she began to applaud him and James knocked her hands away.

**Humour like that is not welcomed before seven. Or ever for that matter.**

"Thursdays," James said, "mean that we sleep in. I tried to tell you that you wouldn't have to get up early. Now, I'm going back to sleep."

"Wait." Lily grabbed his arm before he could lie back down, jerking him into sitting position. "You can't go back to sleep. You're _not _going back to sleep," she ordered. "Besides you'd have less than an hour; you need to get ready for breakfast."

James shook her head and fell back on his pillow anyway. "Sleeping through breakfast."

"Well _when will you eat_?" Lily questioned.

James sighed and rolled to face her, looking up at her. "Thursdays: we sleep through breakfast and half of the first class. We miss the rest to eat breakfast. Kitchens."

_Oh. Well then what the hell am I supposed to do?_

Lily sighed and sat on the floor, letting out a huff of frustration at the pain. "I hate this ankle!" she said loudly.

"What the hell are you doing on the floor?" James said through a yawn.

"I have nothing better to do," Lily snapped. She resisted the urge to yawn herself. "I can't go back to sleep after being awake like this. But…Merlin my ankle kills."

**So what the hell are you doing on the ground?**

James shook his head at her and moved over. He fixed the covers on his bed around him and propped his pillow up behind him. "Come on," he said, waving her up.

"No," Lily told him.

_I am not going up there._

James sighed, "Not going to try anything. Just sit before you hurt your ankle more. They say you're supposed to elevate it."

"And how would you know?"

"Quidditch injuries and such." He was really getting tired of talking. He was supposed to be sleeping in. "Now, get up here please."

"No."

"Fine. Then we're going to the Hospital Wing." James made to get up and Lily crossed her arms.

"_No_. I don't want to go."

_What part of 'no' don't you understand?_

"I don't care what you want. Either up here and elevate it or I'll pick you up and carry you there myself."

Lily sighed and got up, hobbling over to his bed. He reached over to his nightstand and searched blindly for his wand. Finally Lily put it in his hand.

He summoned a throw pillow from his trunk and put it on the bed. Lily picked it up with a raised eyebrow.

"What is this?" she asked holding it up. It was puffy, round and overstuffed. Lily turned it over in her hands. "It's pink." This was true. The pillow was bright pink faux suede with the perfectly embroidered message, 'Be Mine.' Lily made a face.

"Valentine's Day present."

"Why do they hate you?" she asked.

**I'm sure you could come with a ton of possibilities.**

"It was a second year," he explained, taking the pillow from her. "And I couldn't get rid of it; she was really sweet."

_She gave you a pillow?_

James ran a hand over it, "It's really soft too." When he caught her look he stopped petting the pillow and instead pulled her legs up onto his bed. He lifted her left leg and placed the pillow under her ankle.

"There," he said. Lily shuffled herself back against the headboard to get comfortable and then smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He rubbed his eye. "I'm going back to sleep."

_What? But what am I going to do until they wake up? …Find a way to entertain yourself. It'd just be mean to keep him up._

Lily let out a sigh.

_Let's see…one hundred things about yourself. Name them. One: I have red hair. Two: I have green eyes. Three: I'm a witch…_

Lily sat there for a long while, every few minutes glancing over at the sleeping form of James.

_Fifty-nine: I learnt to drive a car and got my license last year. Sixty: I…_

She blinked tiredly.

_I learnt to ride a bike when I was five… I'm really, really tired right now…_

She fiddled with the ends of her hair. Her eyes were stingingly tired and it felt like it was a struggle to try and keep them open. She pulled her hair to one side and slowly let her eyes drift shut.

_Ah. Just rest your eyes. Don't sleep. _

A few minutes later Lily jolted as her head hit the hanging behind her. She told herself she'd just close her eyes and lean back, be comfortable for however much longer she was going to be there. She kicked the throw pillow a little farther and then put her ankle upon it again, slouching and scooting a bit lower.

She relaxed back and closed her eyes, her head falling over to the side.

And, not-so-surprisingly, she fell asleep.

* * *

"No," James whispered. "He was a total-"

"I know what he did." Remus sighed and continued. "But if you don't-"

"I'm not going to," James whispered harshly, not wanting to wake Lily. She was sleeping against his side, her arm lying across his waist and James hadn't wanted to get up in fear of waking her. And, he admitted, he kind of like the position he was in.

"One of you will eventually. Instead of dragging this on just be the bigger person."

"I don't want to be the damn bigger person," James snapped.

**Shit that was kind of loud… oh she's still asleep.**

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he saw Lily's hair falling across her cheek and onto his chest. He put an arm around her and picked a lock up, curling it around his forefinger and smiling a bit.

Remus gave him a look. "You two are being idiots."

"Then let us be."

"One of you is going to snap if you keep something like this up," Remus warned. "Someone's going to cave."

"He can if he wants," James said indifferently.

Remus was getting frustrated. "I don't care if you're going to fight for another week after this," he said. "But you two are going to talk about it now first."

"No."

"You know, I thought you both had grown up." Remus shook his head.

James mouthed the next part as Remus said it, already knowing what was coming.

"What the hell happened?"

**What the hell happened?**

"Real mature," Remus told him facetiously.

**More mature than Sirius.**

Lily's eyes opened slowly, she squinted at the light coming through the windows, and then quickly shut them again.

_Where am-right. Wait. James?_

She opened her eyes again and saw James' white t-shirt, covering his chest, and felt her arm against his warm body, lying across his muscled abdomen.

She sat up and moved away from him in what she hoped was a subtle manner.

"You're up," James smiled at her. "Good morning."

"What time is it?" she asked. She ran a hand over her now very out of place hair. She undid the twists at the back and let it down, combing her fingers through it.

Remus checked his watch, "Quarter past nine," he replied.

_I'm skipping class? I'm skipping class. _

"Where are the others?" Lily looked around at the empty-unmade- beds with curiosity.

James shrugged, "Kitchens, I guess."

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked.

"Figured you'd want the sleep. Besides, it wasn't time to get up anyway. Sirius and Peter left early." His voice tensed a bit at the last bit and Lily wanted to ask what was going on, but had a feeling she already knew.

"Well when are we supposed to get up?"

James grinned lopsidedly, "About fifteen minutes ago. Give me a couple of minutes to change and then we'll head out."

Lily nodded and James got out of bed, getting his uniform and robes out.

She couldn't help but watch as he pulled his t-shirt over his head, exposing his athlete body. The sculpted muscles of his abdomen, toned arms, broad chest.

_You're staring…and you know it…_

He grinned at her but she just shook her head. Remus watched their little exchange with a cross between disturbance and amusement.

Once James was dressed Lily slipped on her shoes. Her ankle was still causing her a lot of pain, but she decided to just bear it, not wanting to sound weak and breakable. Especially after 'needing' James to carry her the night before; it was slightly humiliating.

They grabbed their bags and went down to the common room then out the portrait hole, heading towards the kitchens.

The three of them ran into Peter and Sirius the moment they entered. Literally.

Lily almost fell as Peter was coming one way with a plate of toast while Sirius was trying to go around the entire group with a goblet of pumpkin juice.

**They're still here? It's been an hour!**

Peter got by and Sirius slipped behind all of them, the two of them sitting down to finish eating.

James asked the house elves for three plates of eggs over-easy, and toast after Lily shot down his suggestion of waffles.

It was tense and silent as they ate.

_I guess the two of them really do carry the conversations._

Neither Sirius nor James said a word as they ate. Lily and Remus each made a couple of attempts. Remus tried to bring up Quidditch while Lily made a lame attempt at starting some sort of discussion about classes.

As soon as James saw that Lily had finished eating he stood.

"I'm going to go to class," he said stiffly.

Lily stood as well and then grabbed onto her chair. "Ow!" she cried.

James reached out a hand, "Are you alright?"

Lily nodded.

_No._

"I'm fine," she assured.

"It's your ankle again." Not a question, a statement. "That's it. You're being stubborn; I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"No," Lily refused. Peter, Remus and Sirius got up as well, finished eating and ready to go. Lily had decided that was the end of the conversation and left the kitchens, everyone else behind her though it wouldn't take them long to catch up with her limping.

They went towards Transfiguration and by the time they got there most of the students were already in the room.

"Conjuring Spells," McGonagall was reading off the board while they took their seats. "To create an object out of thin air. Today you will be conjuring chairs. Any chair of your choice. But I do not want a stool, or a stump, or a bench. I would like a chair."

Everyone nodded and she let them get to work.

Lily went to stand and then quickly sat back down.

_Ow! Too much pressure too fast._

"Miss Evans, is there a reason you're not working?" McGonagall asked.

"No Pro-"

James cut in, "Yes actually. Professor, Lily has injured her ankle." Lily looked over at him. He had already conjured a chair. Even though they had started mere minutes ago this wasn't surprising considering how talented he was at Transfiguration.

_That was fast._

"I see," McGonagall nodded. "Miss Evans, are you incapable of doing work in my class today then?"

Lily shook her head, "No Professor, I'm fine." She shot a look at James but he would not be deterred.

"Actually," he began, "her ankle's been hurting since yesterday. She should go to the hospital wing. Get Madame Pomfrey to look at it."

_Shut up!_

McGonagall looked at how Lily was standing, her chair supporting her and her left leg bent to take weight off her ankle.

"Very well," she agreed. Her gaze swept across the room and landed on Sirius. He had also conjured a chair, a large, red, armchair, and he was now lounging in it lazily. "Black!" she barked.

"What can I do for you Professor?" Sirius smirked and McGonagall scowled.

"You can accompany Miss Evans to the hospital wing," she instructed. When he made no move to get up she clarified, "_Now,_ Mister Black."

Sirius stood begrudgingly and went to the door; he turned and gave Lily an annoyed look as she wasn't following.

"Professor, I can go with Lily," James offered hopefully.

She shook her head, "No Mister Potter I asked Black. You will stay here and help the other students." She looked around the room before muttering, "Heavens knows they need it."

Lily gave James an apologetic look before following Sirius out the door.

_Slow down Black!_

Lily was hopping and skipping to keep up with him. He was moving down the corridors quickly and furiously; not once looking back to see if she was even still behind him.

"Black!" she yelled. "Wait!"

"No," he said over his shoulder. "Keep up."

"I can't!" she screamed in frustration, hobbling down the corridor and still feeling like she was getting nowhere. He kept going, the distance between becoming longer and longer.

"Yeah," he called back, "I know you can't. But _I'm_ not slowing down for _you_."

Then it clicked.

_This is his way of being metaphorical?_

She continued down the corridor by herself, Sirius having rounded the corner, leaving her behind.

She huffed in anger as she went on her way and when she finally got to the large doors of the hospital wing Sirius was leaning against the wall beside them. He pushed the doors open and went inside, Lily slipping through them afterwards.

"Madame Pomfrey?" she called.

The medi-witch came through her office door smiling. She looked at the two students before her, scrutinizing both of them for injuries.

"What have we?" she asked.

"I've…injured my ankle," Lily said.

Madame Pomfrey gestured for her to sit on one of the beds and Lily did so, smoothing out a few creases on the clean, white bedding. She swung her legs onto the bed as well and sat back.

After asking which ankle, Madame Pomfrey took Lily's shoe off and rolled down her sock, watching Lily's reaction to the pain.

Sirius grabbed a chair and slouched into it, not paying any attention to what was going on around him.

"Now how did you manage this?" the nurse asked referring to Lily's injury.

Lily smiled sheepishly, "I was in a bit of a fight yesterday. I fell back on it."

The witch _tsked_ and shook her head.

Once she had poked and prodded Lily's ankle and asked her how everything felt she sighed. "You've sprained it," she announced.

_How bad is spraining something?_

"It's not too bad," Pomfrey continued. "But I want you to ice it as much as you can today. Try and stay off it. You may take the rest of the day off if you need, I'm sure one of your friends will get you caught up in classes. I want that ankle elevated-"

_Damn James._

"-and I want you to rest." Madame Pomfrey opened a drawer and pulled out some bandages and a container of something. She opened the container and spread some sort of balm on Lily's ankle, immediately soothing the pain, then began to wrap Lily's ankle. When she was finished she handed Lily the bandages. "If you need to wrap it again later you can take these with you. If those pins come undone I want you to make sure you fix them as soon as possible. We want this to heal, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Lily agreed.

"Good, now don't be on that ankle too much. Those bandages can come off after dinner and you'll be all healed. You're free to leave."

_Healed in a few hours? ...right. Magic healing balm._

"Thank you," Lily said sincerely. She teetered on her feet and then hobbled over to the door, careful about putting weight on her left ankle.

"Oh we're leaving?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, Mister Black. You leave with Miss Evans," Madame Pomfrey instructed. Sirius got up and left, passing right by Lily.

_That is IT!_

As the doors shut behind Lily she glared at Sirius' back. "Black!" she shouted after him.

He spun around quickly, something Lily wasn't expecting. She thought she'd have to fight a bit more before getting a reaction out of him.

_Well then…_

After a moment of silence Sirius gave her a sharp look. "What?"

"…Talk to me," she demanded.

Sirius paused, pretending to consider this. "No, Evans. I don't think I want to." He turned on his heel and headed away again.

"Black!" she yelled. No answer. "BLACK!"

"Shut up Evans!" Sirius snapped.

"No," Lily said indignantly. "I want to know what your problem is, Black."

_Or at least hear you admit you have unsolvable problems._

"Fine." He came storming back over to where she was. "See this Evans. He was my friend first. James is _my_ brother. And you've been rejecting him for years and now this? You've got him brainwashed and it's cruel. It's all about you."

Lily shook her head. "You think I'm taking James away from you?"

"Think?" Sirius repeated incredulously. "No. You _are_. I'm sick of it."

"I'm not taking him away from you!" Lily's voice softened, "Not at all."

"Really? Because it seems like this entire week, you trying to be a Marauder, isn't about _Marauder-being_ at all, it's about _you_," he spat venomously. "What _you_ want to do. And then you take Prongs with you!"

_Is that how he sees it?_

"Do you like him?" Sirius asked. "I mean, really, are you just messing with him or do you really like him?"

_No, of course not….well maybe…a little bit…_

She had barely admitted to herself when she heard herself say, "Yes, I think I do."

"Well that's not good enough," Sirius told her. "You can't just think it. Because sometimes we think things and we're wrong. And as much as I want you to be together-I mean, six years and he's still crazy about you, you're what makes him happy- if you're not sure, then-"

"I get it," Lily interrupted. She sighed, "I won't. I won't do anything until I know."

"Whatever."

"Black, I'm sorry," Lily said quickly. "You're right. He was yours first. And I'm sorry if you feel I'm taking him away from you."

"You are," he told her.

_Um, sorry?_

"I'm sorry," Lily apologized again. "Look, I'll try not to…change your plans to suit myself anymore. Really, I am sorry. Is there something I can do to make it up to you?" she offered.

_Unlikely. He seems more than angry._

"My birthday," Sirius started, "is a week and three days from today."

_The thirtieth? I had no idea._

"My eighteenth," he told her.

"Oh," Lily nodded. "And…you want me to get you a present?" she asked slowly.

"No," Sirius said. "Or…well, sure, if you insist." He shook his head, "But what I was _going_ to say was that I want the entire day with James and Remus and Pete. Without you."

_Okay. Fair enough._

"Well, maybe for half an hour with you," Sirius shrugged. "You're not bad Evans. Actually, I like you Evans, you're pretty cool really. But you steal my brother and I will find a way to get him back." He smirked, "I have many ways, Evans."

"Of course Black. And you know, you're not terrible yourself." She smiled, "I find myself slowly understanding why you're all so close actually. You're all brilliant, real Gryffindors too."

He grinned, "Thanks."

"We need to go back to class now."

"Oh Evans."

Lily laughed, "Really. We do. Although, we should just head towards Potions now. I mean, by the time I limp my way over back to Transfiguration everyone will be gone."

Sirius shook his head. He squatted down a bit. "Get on Evans," he said.

"No, it's okay I can walk," she told him.

"Evans," he said exasperatedly, "I'm not _hobbling_ back to class with you. You're really slow and I refuse to move at that speed."

_Bluntly put._

"No. You go ahead then." Lily waved him on. And he groaned.

"Prongs wasn't kidding when he said you were stubborn," he grumbled. "Now get on Evans."

Lily did as she was told and got on his back, her arms hanging around his neck and his forearms supporting her from behind her knees.

"Isn't this…uncomfortable?" Lily asked.

"Not if you don't mention it Evans."

* * *

A/N: Okay so there's chapter twenty. Yay! and with this let's get to 500 review please! Now, this chapter was longer than usual, by about 1000 words. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. But please review and I'll try to update again ASAP.

I really hope you all liked this chapter and PLEASE tell me what you thought.

The last question got a lot of opinions. now here's today's: What is my (and/or your) favourite type of tree?

Happy official summer!

Anyways,

Scarlett


	21. Short Stories of a First Kiss

"So," Sirius began as he piggybacked Lily to potions, "about what you found out last night…"

Lily stared ahead down the corridor. "What about it?"

"Well." Sirius tried to blow a piece of hair out of his eyes that was refusing to move. Lily laughed and pushed it back for him herself. "Well," Sirius said again, "you're not going to tell anyone, right?"

"Of course not," Lily told him.

"Not a soul?"

"Not a soul," she repeated.

"Why should I believe you?"

It wasn't said angrily or rudely, or even accusatorily. He asked it as a question, genuinely wanting an answer.

_Because…_

"Well because I've been keeping the secret for a while now," Lily said honestly.

She felt Sirius tense. "James told you before?"

"No," Lily said quickly. "I meant I already knew about Remus'…"

_What did James call it? His furry little problem?_

"furry little problem," she finished. "I figured it out late last year actually."

"Oh." He visibly relaxed. "Alright."

Lily smiled. "I already told James this, but, you know the four of you are incredible."

Sirius smirked, "Sucking up to us Evans?" he joked.

"_No_. I mean it. The map, the…transformations, I can't say I've ever met more complex people."

"I'll take it," Sirius nodded.

"Take what?" Lily asked.

"The compliment," Sirius clarified.

_Hm. I guess it was more of a… 'Just Is'_ _kind of thing. But compliment? I'll go with it._

Lily grinned, "Alright then."

_I wonder if this is crossing a line…_

"Black?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"What is it Evans?" he asked back tiredly.

Lily took a deep breath, "Can you tell me why James likes me?"

Sirius looked at her from the corner of his eye, lifting her up higher on his back as she began to slip. "I don't know Evans," he told her. "Are guys allowed to do that?"

_Do what?_

"What do you mean?"

"Well, girls, they have all those rules you know."

_Not quite following._

"Such as…?" she prodded.

Sirius sighed. "Say Prewett liked a guy-"

"She likes Frank," Lily interrupted.

"Fine," Sirius rolled his eyes. "So Prewett likes Frank and she tells you all about how she likes Frank. Are you allowed to go and tell Frank?"

"No," Lily answered automatically.

_He's smirking isn't he?_

"Well, maybe depending on the circumstances," Lily corrected quickly.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like…if Frank _really_ wanted to know," Lily stressed. "Or if it could…possibly…make their relationship better."

_Come on Paddy…it's for the greater good…_

Sirius took the bait and caved. "I guess. Fine. But this isn't some sort of…slumber party game," he said. "And I'm not telling you everything."

"But you're telling me some things?" Lily questioned hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," he shrugged slightly. "What I remember from his blabbering anyway."

She tried to keep her mouth shut and resist the urge to chirp a loud 'YAY!'

_Is…is he going to tell me…?_

"Well?" Lily pressed.

"Right," Sirius said. "I don't know. He usually just goes on about how smart you are. Or how pretty you are. Or how unique you are. Or how nice you were to that third year…how pretty you looked." Sirius made a face. Lily caught his look and his eyes widened. "Not that you're not attractive Evans," he told her quickly. "But…well I'm not the one obsessed with you. I don't need to hear about how…gorgeous-" Lily got the feeling he was quoting his best mate- "you are."

Lily smiled.

"He likes it when you wear your hair that one way," Sirius recalled.

_My hair?_

"What way?" she asked.

Sirius gave her an odd look. "How the hell should I know?"

_Well you just said 'that one way'. What way!_

"You just said 'that one way'," Lily pointed out.

"I don't know," Sirius told her. "He said it a couple weeks ago I think. Something about you braiding your hair and it being long."

_A couple weeks ago? Oh! That was a good day. I woke up early enough to actually do something with my hair. I love those days. _

Lily paused to think just how her hair had been done that day.

_I…oh. I had the two small braids tied in the back._

"Anything else?" Lily pried.

"Nope," Sirius answered, saying it quick and popping the 'p'. "Or at least, not anymore I'm telling you."

"Fine," Lily said dejectedly.

They were approaching the dungeons and getting strange and jealous looks from the students they passed in the corridors. Lily's eyes landed on James, Remus and Peter. James' eyes locked onto hers and they widened.

_What?_

**What the hell?**

Then she caught his look of hurt and the glare she sent Sirius' way.

_Oh. No it's not like…_

Her arms moved from hanging around Sirius' neck so she could put her hands on his shoulders. "I think you should put me down now," she whispered.

Sirius nodded, his gaze straight ahead, ignoring everyone's looks. He bent and lowered Lily to the floor, gently, allowing her get her footing before fully letting her go.

"You okay?" he asked distractedly.

"Yeah. Thanks," she smiled weakly.

She looked between James and Sirius warily. James was glaring at Sirius while Sirius was watching him coolly.

"I'm going to-to…" everyone staring at her was making her uncomfortable. Uneasy.

"Go talk to James," Sirius finished for her and then nodded. He shoved his hands in his pockets and inhaled with a shrug. "Let me know when it's safe?"

Lily laughed weakly, "Definitely."

She went over to James, not really looking at him but at everyone else staring at her as they passed.

"What's going on?" James asked as soon as she was in hearing distance to his lowered voice.

"I talked to Sirius," Lily said. "Everything's good…solved for the most part."

"And the piggyback?" Peter questioned.

"Because of my ankle," Lily explained. She paused and realized how well that balm stuff was working. "Which, by the way, is a lot better."

**I told you to go to the hospital wing. That Pomfrey does sick Magic. Literally.**

James nodded. "So what do you mean by 'you talked to Sirius'?"

"I mean I talked to him. Really talked to him."

**But he was supposed to cave first!**

"About what?" Remus enquired.

_Well…_

"About why he was upset," Lily said plainly. "And now…now we're okay." She looked at James, "But you two, you two need to talk about all of this too."

**Merlin Lils, not you too.**

James ignored her instructions and nodded towards class. "We should go in."

* * *

It wasn't until lunch when Lily left subtly slipped away from James and Remus and over to Sirius and Peter.

It was funny, she had thought, how they had split up. Peter was stuck to Sirius' side and Remus was with James. The interesting part was that Remus and Peter hadn't taken sides really; they just wanted everything sorted it out. And until then, they were both just keeping one of their friends company. And Sirius wasn't upset with Remus for hanging out with James and James wasn't upset with Peter. It was just what they did.

The other thing was how different things were between Remus and James than between James and Sirius. Things seemed quieter without Sirius thrown into the mix of things. And while Lily had been with James and Remus, thinking that's where she was supposed to be and that she'd like the quiet, she came to find she didn't.

Without Sirius, the entire morning was _too_ quiet. Too calm. It wasn't hectic _enough_ and Lily could tell she wasn't the only one bothered by the odd and unfamiliar atmosphere around the boys. From the look in James' eyes she knew that he was getting antsy.

"All clear, Black."

"What?" Sirius asked.

_Merlin Black._

"You need to talk to him," Lily said urgently.

"I what?"

Peter started to wander off and Lily sighed. James and Remus were standing near the Great Hall doors and Peter was heading their way. Lily began to move down the corridor with everyone else, Sirius debating before walking with her.

"You need to talk to James," Lily told him slowly.

Sirius smiled charmingly at two passing girls and Lily rolled her eyes.

_Really? You're going to flirt __now__, Black?_

Sirius caught her pointed look. "He's still pissed?"

_Well as far as I can I tell…you __did__ do something pretty stupid._

"Not really," Lily said carefully.

"So then why do I need to talk to him?"

"Because he isn't exactly happy either," Lily huffed in frustration. "And you certainly can't just go on and pretend it never happened!"

"No need to yell Evans," Sirius reminded offhandedly.

"Sorry Black. But your _stupidity_ is really wearing on my nerves!"

Sirius smirked, "If I recall, Evans, earlier you called me brilliant."

_I eat my words. Right now._

"Black."

"Evans, no offense, but you're not a bloke," Sirius said.

"Funnily enough Black, I'm not offended in the slightest."

Sirius continued as if she hadn't said a thing. "It's different with guys. We don't sit and cry when we make up after fights. We move. On."

"Even with things like this?" Lily asked.

Sirius paused. Lily waited. Sirius' head fell back and he looked up tiredly. "I'll talk to him later."

"Really."

"Yes really. Now where is he?"

"Over there." Lily jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards the Great Hall and Sirius looked at her expectantly. "What?"

"Well if you don't go over there, he's going to come over here."

"And?" Lily prodded.

_If he comes over here then they can talk, right?_

Lily voiced this thought in Sirius' silence.

"I'll talk to him later," Sirius snapped irately.

"Fine." Lily crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "You better actually though."

"Obviously."

'Later' turned out to be Divination. The only class that contained James and Sirius as the only Marauders.

**Merlin this class is a breeze.**

James sat with Sirius, having already been partners for the class since September.

They were supposed to be going deeper into the divination method of Dream Interpretation. They were supposed to be relating their dreams to their partners and then, well, _interpreting_ them.

James smirked as he began, "So, I dreamt that my best mate was being an asshole. It was funny really; it was so vividly realistic. Like it actually happened."

**Alright. Low. He deserves it.**

Sirius looked at his textbook. "You want me to apologize?"

**Couldn't hurt.**

"Okay," he shut the textbook. "Sorry."

"You were a real dick."

"So were you."

"What the hell?" A few heads turned in their direction questioningly and James lowered his voice. "What the hell did I do in this?"

Sirius just shook his head.

"That's right. I didn't do a damn thing," James told him. "Now, are you going to tell me about your dreams?"

"Sure. I dreamt that…that a tidal wave swept Hogwarts away," Sirius supplied, following their usual routine of making up total bullshit dream stories.

James paused and looked at his textbook as if trying to truly interpret his subconscious crap. "I think that means you're an arse."

**Oh shut up Prongs.**

"Okay. Here's what you did," Sirius suddenly wanted to talk. To tell him just what was on his mind. "One, you were friends with me. Two, you decided you liked Evans. Three, we're brothers," he stopped counting. "Then, you and Evans have this bet. And then everything gets rearranged for her. Evans, that is. And then yesterday you send me off on four legs to go to Hogsmeade. By myself, if it hadn't been for me dragging Peter along. And you didn't even realize that I took the firewhiskey." Sirius considered something. "Oh, so we're out of firewhiskey as well."

**So he felt ignored. That's what this is about?**

"Padfoot-"

Sirius shrugged, "But hey, I'm over it. And I can see how I was an arse."

"This is my fault?" James asked incredulously. "You're really are freaking screwed up, aren't you?"

Sirius' jaw set.

"You got drunk. And you blew everything," James told him.

"Oh like you weren't going to tell her anyways. At least that way I had some say in it."

**You would've had a 'say' in it no matter what!**

"I wasn't going to tell her without you, Remus or Pete," James said angrily.

"Whatever," Sirius sighed.

With anybody else this would have made James even more furious. 'Whatever' was a phrase of indifference. Something that was meant to show how little you cared. With a conversation like this-something that for five years now, none of them had taken lightly—a response of 'whatever' should have bothered him. But with Sirius, this 'whatever' wasn't an uncaring term but a breaking term. He had caved and they both knew it.

**He caved. He looks awful. **

"You cool?"

"Evans talked me through it. We're all good."

"Alright."

"You're not going to say sorry?" Sirius asked.

**Huh?**

"Come on, man. Even Evans said sorry!" Students turned to look at them and Sirius gave them a 'what are you looking at?' look. When James still hadn't apologized Sirius slid his textbook across the table.

James smirked, "You're my brother. We're supposed to fight."

"Well fine," Sirius leaned back in his chair. "You can apologize with replacement firewhiskey."

"No-"

**Hell. Fine.**

"-okay." Sirius raised a hand and James followed suit, doing a half fish tail sort of slap and bumping fists. Typical male 'embrace.'

"Cool. Now, go. I want to hear your bullshit dreams."

**Padfoot.**

"Alright. So Filch is about to jump off the astronomy tower and…"

"So," Lily started as they entered the common room, "what are we doing?"

They shrugged and Lily raised an eyebrow.

_No plans? At all?_

Lily was following the boys' up the staircase and entering the boys' common room when she asked, "Really? No plans?"

"Rarely," James told her, "do we ever have plans."

Lily considered this. "True. But you all usually have something you want to do."

_Or some party that __is__ planned._

"Not on Thursdays," Peter said in that 'oh you silly naïve little girl' tone.

"Well alright. What _are_ Thursdays then?"

"Thursdays," Sirius informed her, "are our relaxing days. Nothing to do."

"Except for Sirius," Peter sighed. "Sirius always finds a girl on Thursdays."

"Oh?" Lily asked. "But everybody else has nothing to do?" Lily looked at James as she said this and he shook his head.

**Sirius is the ****only**** one of us who runs off with girls on Thursdays. I swear.**

"It's not that was _have _nothing to do," James corrected. "It's that we are _free_ to relax and _do_ whatever we please."

_I see._

"And what you please today would be…?"

Remus flopped back onto his bed. "No idea," he grinned.

Lily hummed a bit to herself. "So we aren't doing anything then?"

_Well doesn't Black have a girl to go run off with?_

James kicked off his shoes and crawled onto his own bed, leaning against his plush pillow and the curtain hanging behind it. Lily sat at the end of James' bed, stretching her legs out over the bedding horizontally.

"I don't know," James said. "We usually just sit around and talk. Play some sort of…talking game I guess."

_Like...like those slumber party-type games?_

"Awww," Lily cooed. "You play slumber party games."

"Slumber what?" Sirius demanded.

Lily laughed, "Slumber party games. You know, like when girls have sleepovers or whatever and they all sit around and gossip. They play games. Like truth or dare and stuff."

They all nodded in understanding.

**How is it girls can have slumber parties and all that crap but guys can barely share rooms?**

Peter sat up eagerly, "Can we play? Truth or Dare I mean."

**Really Pete?**

Sirius groaned from where he was, sprawled out on the floor by a window. "How about Truth or Truth? I'm tired. I refuse to get up for any sort of dense dares you people come up with."

"I'm in," Remus shrugged as he folded his outer robe and placed it on his trunk.

"Alright," Peter sighed in compromise.

James ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, okay."

The game started off easy. The questions asked were harmless. If the point of the game was to open people up the first round caused bruises. The second measly paper cuts and a few scrapes. But as the game progressed they were slicing each other, forcing open wounds that would leave _nothing _hidden.

First round Lily's biggest issue was 'What are you most attached to?' (After ruling out wands Lily answered her books, James his broom, Sirius his hair, Remus the cauldron he recently got, and Peter a bear he'd had since forever).

The second round's highlight was James question of first kisses. James hadn't paid attention to anyone's answers, already knowing them, except for Lily. He paid very close attention to her reply.

"Wait. Really?" James had asked.

"Yes, really!" she had yelled. "But only because you planned it."

_James Potter was my first kiss. I hate that. I mean…it wasn't even…_

**Yeah I planned it. And I can't believe it actually worked.**

"Yeah. What happened again?" he smirked.

"You can flashback yourself. I don't really like reliving it."

"**Are you sure about this?" I asked Sirius. **

**He nodded. "I swear. Fenwick is going to ask her out and steal your chance."**

**Remus rolled his eyes. "I really don't think this is a good idea. Besides, it's only third year you still have four years."**

**I remember being frustrated that Remus wasn't getting the point. "I want to be her **_**first **_**kiss," I told him. "Benjy Fenwick is two years older than us! If he gets to Evans first than I'll be second. I don't want to be second. I want to be first!" I don't recall much of the conversation after that…oh well. It's what happened after that matters.**

**Lily was leaving the charms classroom. And as soon as she was out of the door Sirius waved his wand and Peter grabbed Lily's from her hand. Lily was stuck to her spot in the doorway. That was my cue. I sauntered up to the doorway and leaned close to her. "Hello Evans. How are you?"**

**A blur of conversation passed here. Egging each other on and bantering. "Potter, **_**what**_** are you doing?" she demanded. **

"**I'm going to kiss you."**

_Ugh, I had tried to forget that actually. Merlin. That was…he stole my first kiss! Took it right from my lips._

"_I'm going to kiss you," he had told me ludicrously._

"_Get away Potter," I snapped. If I had my wand I would have prevented the entire situation. But of course one of his little friends and snatched it right from my hand. And I was already stuck to my spot by Black, heaven knows how._

_James had moved closer to me, his face right in front of mine. "Ready Evans?"_

_I slapped him. Fast, sharp, and hard across his face. When I heard the 'oohs' and sharp, shocked intakes of breath from behind me I realized we had an audience. Everyone waited to leave the classroom who hadn't been able to slip around me and a few kids who had stopped and were lucky enough to be passing by so they could witness all of this. He put a hand to his cheek but seemed barely bothered. "Go away," I whispered harshly. _

"_I'm not leaving until kissed," he smirked. Even then, that smirk had bugged the hell out of me, and at thirteen he had it perfected. "Come on Evans," he taunted. "Everybody's waiting."_

_Now that I think about it, one of those bystanders should have helped me. Cruel little thirteen year olds._

_I could feel myself blushing. Heat rushing to my cheeks like crazy with everybody watching me and James Potter's lips inches from mine. I had licked my lips nervously and turned away from him trying to shield myself without looking obvious._

_And then he moved in closer and I couldn't think anymore. Thoughts were swimming through my brain but getting mixed and jumbled together as he came even closer to me. My hands were in front of me, poised to push him back but they never did. Instead his lips fell on mine and I felt the slight press of them. And then he moved and walked away. His friends following after him._

_That was it. Awkward and reluctant. And when he was finally gone and I was moving on through the day all the thoughts slowly pulled apart, separating from each other and all I could think was how unfair it was. He __stole__ my first kiss from me. And while it meant everything to me it probably meant nothing to him. _

"And you Prongs?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

Both Lily and James were pulled from their thoughts and James seemed to smile embarrassedly. He looked at Lily. "You."

_Or maybe not._

* * *

A/N: so sorry for the long wait. I hope you weren't dissapointed. Now, **if** I update again within the next little while, you can consider yourself miracle-witnesses. But I'll tell you what, I will start writing the next chapter (where truth or truth continues) and if I get to 600 reviews (quite a long stretch but we'll see) I will send eight reviewers as much of the chapter as I have written, in advance.

Or I might do that whether or not I hit 600. Who knows? I am in a good mood.

Trivia Question: In one of my other stories Lily and James get stuck together and Lily is thinking of a song while in the shower. What song is it and who sings it?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	22. Like a Seminar for Boys

A/N: I cannot believe you all got me to 600 reviews! You are all amazing. Best birthday present ever! And thank you so much for reading. I think this is my longest story yet actually and I've already been thinking about follow-ups if you'd all support and be interesting in reading that. But I should finish this first I suppose and see where it ends before dragging it on too long. Anyways thank you so much for 600 and this, right here is a miracle. So go and read on and don't forget to tell me what you think!

Lily still hadn't come to terms with what James had revealed. She hadn't known that she was his first kiss as well. And she had to admit, she felt a little flattered. Although, if she had known at the time, she would have given him an extra slap across the face, knowing now made her feel special. Everybody at Hogwarts knew that James had been with a lot of girls.

_Twenty nine without counting hook-ups. _

But being the first one he kissed. The one he _wanted _to kiss first, made her feel like maybe her first kiss wasn't as bad as she thought. Knowing it was important to more than just her made it everything a bit better.

Of course, she'd never get the first kiss she had wanted. Or even a first kiss where she had _wanted_ her first kiss. But at least it was memorable, for someone, in a good way.

James had only hoped that he was Lily's first kiss. That day it had mostly been for himself, he acknowledged that much of it, he wanted his own first kiss from the redhead. He knew there was a really good chance he was hers as well, but hadn't known for sure until now. It was kind of great. A memory that was already amazing for him had just become spectacular with the knowledge that it was really something for her too.

**I guess I should feel guilty for taking her moment without asking though. It's kind of hard to feel bad though…**

_First kisses happen once. They're FIRST. Oh well. Don't dwell you got over this a while ago._

Lily stared out the window and watched the sky darken. It was looking pretty gloomy outside, like there was going to be a storm, as night took over. They were all waiting for Peter to think of a question, an event that had already taken a good five minutes of their time.

Peter's face lit up for a second and everyone sat up expectantly. Then he shook his head and slumped back a bit, still unsure. He kept shaking his head and muttering to himself until finally Sirius spoke up.

"Merlin, Wormtail!" he boomed. "Just ask a freaking question already!"

Peter looked frantic. "If you could expel someone from Hogwarts who would it be?" he asked quickly, his voice higher and squeakier than usual at Sirius' annoyed outburst.

Sirius calmed down and Remus raised his eyebrows at him. "Sorry," Sirius snapped. "But, really."

"I'd get rid of Mulciber," James decided.

"Snivellus," Sirius contributed.

**Padfoot! Lily was friends with…**

_Severus. I couldn't get rid of him. He was never really the problem anyway. It was those rotten friends of his and his choice to go with them. Severus. _

Remus glanced at Sirius. "Well I don't think…"

"It's okay," Lily interrupted. "Really. It's honesty, right?" James sighed and Remus relaxed considerably as well. "And I'd get rid of Avery."

"Mindy Fairing," Remus announced.

_Mindy Fairing? The little sixth year Ravenclaw? Oh but she's so cute._

"Why?" Lily asked.

**Mindy Fairing. Very persistent that one. Respect to her.**

"Ugh," Remus groaned, "it's complicated."

"No it isn't." Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "The girl's liked Moony for a year and a half now, she won't give up, and Remy here won't date her."

"Why not?" Lily asked. "She's adorable."

_She kind of seems like his type actually. Sweet, smart, endearing. _

"I don't really want a girlfriend right now," Remus said.

"Right now?" James sat up and laughed. "Try 'ever.'"

"You've never wanted to date," Sirius pointed out. He turned towards Lily. "For a while there we thought it was possible he was gay."

"I'm not," Remus told them. "I just don't think it's a good idea to get involved."

_Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Remus on a date at Hogsmeade or anything. _

"Whatever," Sirius shrugged.

"Try telling that to Mindy!" Peter chirped.

Remus shot him a look. "I have actually. But she…she really doesn't get it I suppose." He sighed. "Can we move on now? Next question please?"

"Lily, your turn," James nudged her leg with his foot and Lily kicked him back playfully.

"Um, alright…" Lily paused to think.

"Oh now you're going to think too?" Sirius whined.

"I'll be quick Black. Give me a second."

_Um…something interesting…um…what's something to ask a bunch of boys? Girls!_

"If you could switch genders for a day," Lily smiled, "what would you do?"

"Sleepover!" Sirius yelled immediately. Obviously he had thought about this before.

"You pervert," Lily said with a smile. She turned to James, "Now go ahead Pervert Two."

"Actually," James started with a pointed look, "that wasn't I was going to say. So you, _Lilyflower_, can take that back."

"Don't call me-"

_Lilyflower!_

"You called me _undeserving_ names," James cut into her protest. "And my answer was that if I was girl for a day I would want to help a girl deal with a breakup. See what it's like from that side."

_Oh. Then I guess I do take it back._

They all turned to Remus. "I would go to a club with a bunch of girls," he said. When everyone gave him questioning looks he elaborated, "I'd want to see how true the whole 'men objectifying women' thing is. And if it works both ways."

"Thoughtful," Lily commented. "Peter?"

Peter grinned, turning scarlet. "Sleepovers." He let out a longing sigh and nodded. "Sleepovers."

"What about you?" James threw the question back to Lily and she fell back to lie down on James' bed. Her hair splayed out around her head over the bedspread and she pressed her hands into the bedding. She inhaled deeply and then turned on her side to see James watching her intently. "Well?"

"I'd pee standing up," she replied grinning. "I'd say hang out with guys and observe. But I'm kind of getting sick of that."

"Hey," Sirius said, "I think you're kind of lucky to get this opportunity. If we could get inside girls' minds for a few days our lives would be tons easier."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, sitting up and giving him a challenging look.

"It means girls don't make sense," Sirius and James told her in unison.

_So they all think this way?_

Sirius continued, "You say one thing and it means a complete other."

"Yeah," James agreed. "And you get angry at us and then refuse to tell us why. And then you get even angrier because we don't understand."

"Yeah. _What_ is up with that?"

"Wait. _I_ get angrier? Who exactly are you talking about here?" Lily she tucked her legs under her and faced James, raising her eyebrows at him.

**Aw shit.**

"Not you," James rushed quickly.

_Really now?_

"Yes her!" Sirius exclaimed. "Yes all girls!"

"Padfoot…" Remus said warningly.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm not trying to insult you Evans," he told her, hands up in defence, "but it's a fact. All girls act that way and us blokes have no bloody clue as to why."

"All girls?" Lily whipped around to face Sirius. "So you're saying that all girls are the same. We're all irrational and senseless."

_Pretty bold statement there Black._

"Well what?" Sirius countered, "You're saying you are rational?"

"More so than you all," Lily retorted. "I mean, we may be a tad emotional at times but at least we have our wits together."

"And there's another thing. You all get angry with us for _generalizing_ and _stereotyping_ you, when you do the exact same thing!"

"We do not!"

**Yes you do.**

James leaned forward towards Lily. "You don't? You just said that girls have their wits together. Wits meaning smarts, correct?"

Lily nodded.

_His point is…?_

"Well right there," James leaned back and crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Right there, you just made a _generalization_ about girls. But see, when it's positive you don't mind. I know for a fact that not all girls are as smart as they think they are," James told her.

"I could name a few," Sirius threw in.

"And on top of that, your statement implies that boys are less intellectually inclined than girls," James pointed out. "Which, I also know, is not always true."

_It is too true! And maybe not in all cases but in most. And there is a definite difference in __common sense__when it comes to the contrasts of boys and girls._

"But what about common sense?" Lily shot back. "Boys will do just about anything other boys tell them to. I mean, think dares and just plain idiotic moves. If you were to compare the amount of detentions given to boys than to girls I think you'd see a very distinct difference. It's not stereotyping if it's the truth."

"How does getting a detention make us idiotic?" James questioned. "The way I see it," he shrugged his school robe off, really getting into the conversation, "everything I've gotten detention for was worth it. And I didn't get the detentions for being stupid. I got the detentions for doing what I wanted and having fun. I didn't mind. And I knew what the consequences would be, I could take it, it was worth it." He rolled up the sleeves of his white button-down, pushing them up above his elbows.

_He's creasing the sleeves. It's going to be all wrinkled._

Sirius nodded in agreement. "And what we can't take, we're _smart_ enough to make sure no one ever finds out."

**Nice point, Pads.**

_You got drunk last night and spilled everything Black. You can shut up about this._

"But girls-"

"Therefore _following_ your logic," Sirius continued, "that means that the percentages of girl-detentions are coming from girl stupidity?" Without waiting for her answer he ploughed on, "Because they wouldn't intentionally do something to grant them a detention. In which case, remind me again how men are the stupider ones?"

_Really. Shut up. _

Remus shook his head pleadingly. "Are you three really going to debate over this?"

"No," James smirked. "There is no debate. She's wrong, and we're," he gestured between himself and Sirius, "right."

"How the hell are _you_ right?" Lily demanded.

"Well they did make good points," Peter supplied _un_helpfully.

Lily sent a glare his way and he shrank back.

Remus sighed. "So back to where this came from-"

"Right!" Sirius said, loudly cutting Remus off. "Girls being completely irrational and making no sense."

"We make perfect sense if you _'men,'_" she finger quoted, "would just pay attention."

**She's so cute when she's angry.**

"Why do you all have to be so complex though?" James asked.

"Because we're different, from each other and from all of you."

_You guys are different too. You just don't like to show it._

"Well we're paying attention now," Sirius shrugged and kicked out his legs, folding his hands behind his head and relaxing. "Feel like making sense?"

_What?_

"Pardon?"

"So why don't girls just talk upfront?" Sirius asked. "I mean, really. When something wrong all you ever hear from them is 'it's nothing' or 'I'm fine.' Why can't you just tell us what the hell is wrong?"

_Oh. _

"Well because it sounds too stupid when you talk about it out loud," she replied.

"But then eventually you do and you're no longer upset you get angry," Remus pointed out.

_So Remus is joining in, huh?_

"Only because we get overwhelmed. Mostly because of guys."

"We _overwhelm_ you lot?" James asked confusedly. He now had moved and positioned himself better in front of Lily, lying on his side to face her. He propped his head up on his fist, his upper arm against the bed, and Lily could see the muscles of his triceps visibly under his rolled up sleeves.

_Damn Quidditch. Damn those muscles!_

Lily realized she needed to retort. "Yes," she snapped, trying to hide her blush, "you do actually. And every once in a while we get so sick of your…shenanigans that we just have to let it out."

"You can't just tell us during our first…shenanigans?" Sirius brushed his hair out of his face and glanced over at Lily for an answer.

"No." Lily paused. "It's just…you should _get it_ already. You know? We shouldn't have to be upfront I guess. You should just know."

**Really.**

"How the bloody hells are we supposed to _just know_?" Sirius demanded.

Remus tilted his head in thought. "He's…kind of right."

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "I guess that's just what we're looking for. The bloke who does, 'just know.'"

Sirius sighed, "Women!"

"I have a question," Peter began timidly, raising a hand.

Lily eyed him amusedly, "Yes, Peter?"

"Do girls like crying?"

"Pardon?"

"That's true," James considered. "It sort of seems like girls _like_ to cry. And they do it an awful lot."

"We don't…well we…sometimes it's good to cry!" she defended. "I mean, crying gets rid of a lot of emotions that weigh you down. You feel lighter afterwards. They say crying is healthy."

"Well _they _are idiots," Sirius said, bluntly.

Lily shook her head. "What? You don't cry every once in a while?"

"Not unless we have a damn good bloody reason!" Sirius exclaimed.

**Careful what you say Prongs. It can and will be thrown back at you. **

"What about your…time of the months?" James enquired slowly. "Does it really make you emotional?"

_Are you seriously going to ask about that?_

"Yes," Lily laughed openly. "But can we stay away from that subject?"

"Definitely," Peter squeaked quickly.

The questions kept rolling and instantly they went from 'Truth or Truth' to 'Let's Ask Lily Questions About Girls!' And they were firing questions at her without rest. Why do girls overreact? Why do they gossip? Why do girls talk about other girls behind their backs? Why don't they just confront the girls they can't stand? Why do girls' fights take so long to end? Why are girl-fights all words and rumours and so bloody vicious?

Lily's favourite question was the one about washrooms. It was one of the few Remus asked. With a slight smile and a raised eyebrow he had questioned, "Why do girls go to the loo in…groups?"

Lily laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more.

Finally James put a hand on her back and looked at her concernedly. "Lily? Lily, breathe. Breathe, Lily. Lils, you're going to turn purple!" Her face was already bright red and she covered it with her hands as she tried to control her breathing.

She gasped for air a couple times before exhaling, long and controlled, and talking. "Sorry. It's just…you're right. It _is_ a typical _girl_ thing to do."

"And you do it because…?" Remus prodded.

_I wonder if there's a girl code somewhere that forbids me to divulge any of this. …ah well._

"Because," Lily answered simply.

The four guys gave her looks.

"Because when we go to the loo in groups we usually talk and stuff. Because there it's all girls. They all gossip either in the lavatories or in the dormitories," she explained. "I suppose the lavatories are more convenient."

**So that's why they take so long?**

"Here's a question," James started. "Why do girls shop so freaking much?"

_This is like some sort of seminar. _

"Now, that I barely understand," Lily told him. "I mean shopping's okay but even I don't get why some girls obsess and have to buy _everything_. I think it's like some sort of hobby that they pick up. Plus, with girls there are so many options. My sister can stand in a store for hours trying to decide whether to buy a skirt or a dress or a blouse or a long-sleeved dress or a sweater or shoes! Oh my Merlin that girl can spend hours staring at shoes. And then by the time we leave she's bought all of it."

**So guys aren't the only ones who find this ridiculous.**

Remus checked the time. "Hey, it's just past eleven and we actually have to get up tomorrow."

The four of them jumped up from their beds and made their way to their pyjamas, grabbing them off of their trunks or, in Sirius' case, their bedposts. Since they hadn't told Lily to leave and she wasn't quite sure if she was allowed to go to her own dormitory quite yet, she averted her gaze and busied herself with unwrapping her ankle while the boys changed.

After getting the bandages off, she sighed and rotated her ankle. Relief washed over her as there was no pain and she grinned, hopping off the bed herself and walking around it a couple times.

"I take it your ankle is better?" James asked while pulling his t-shirt over his head.

Lily nodded, "Much better."

"Good to hear," James nodded and grabbed the Marauders Map before walking over to his bed and getting comfortable again. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said tapping the map. The inky design of it spread out on the parchment.

"Anything interesting?" Sirius asked as he crawled into bed himself. James shook his head.

"What are you looking for anyway?" Lily questioned.

_He doesn't just…watch people, does he? Who am I kidding, he probably does. …That's probably why my avoidance techniques were futile._

"I don't know," James shrugged. "Just passing time. If you're tired you can go now."

Lily nodded, "Alright. Goodnight then."

"'Night," James smiled at her as she got up and headed towards the door. She was halfway down the staircase when James flew out of bed and chased her down the staircase, catching her at the last step.

"Wait," he said. "Last question, I swear."

She sighed dramatically, "Fine. Go ahead."

"Why don't girls like me?"

_Really?_

She pushed his shoulder, "Honestly? Are you kidding me? _All_ of the girls like you." She shook her head. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight James."

"Not all of the girls," he pointed out, following her across the common room and to the bottom of the girls staircase. "I think there may be one I still can't get to."

Lily sighed and turned to him as she stepped onto the stairs. "I think maybe you already have."

He stared at her.

**Wait. She does…what?**

Lily gave him a small smile, "Goodnight James."

"Goodnight Lily," he replied, but she was already gone.

* * *

A/N: I'll make this short since there was a note at the beginning. Thank you for reading and pretty please with whatever you love most on top review.

Question: I watched Harry Potter movies again today. Which ones did I watch?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	23. Morning 6 and the Bestest of Friends

Lily woke up to the sound of thunder and rain pounding hard against the window panes. She sat up in bed and looked around at the darkened room. As lightning struck outside quick shadows were cast across the dormitory floor and Lily jumped as another clap of thunder rang out.

She swallowed and combed her fingers through her hair as her eyes adjusted to darkness and things became more visible. Swinging her feet over the edge of her bed, she padded over to the window and looked out at the storm. The rain was like a curtain of water, blurring the clear glass and making the shocks of lightning even more stunning as it stood out.

_Beautiful._

Again the thunder clapped and Lily jolted, hitting her elbow against the window. She turned quickly, hoping she hadn't woken anybody. Someone stirred and moved their bed hangings aside.

_No such luck._

Alice's head peeked out of red curtain and she rubbed her eyes. "Lily…what are you doing? Go to sleep."

Lily crept quickly over to her friend. "Nothing," she told her. "The storm woke me. Go back to sleep."

Alice instead sat and looked at Lily, "I'm already up. At," she checked the time, "four a.m. So how are you?"

"Sorry?"

"How are you?" Alice asked, now getting comfortable sitting up, pulling her pillow up behind her.

"I'm fine, thanks," Lily smiled. "You?"

"Wonderful. Although, I am starting to miss my best friend…"

_Oh Alice._

"Sorry, Alice. I assure you she will be returned to you within the next forty-eight hours," Lily promised.

Alice sighed and placed her chin in her hand and gave Lily a knowing smile. "I haven't been around you much the past couple days, so correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot has happened, yes?"

_What does this have to with anything?_

Lily nodded, "I suppose."

"Well then. Am I really going to get my best friends back?"

Lily chuckled, "Yes."

Alice smirked, "Will she still be single? Or will I finally have someone to double date with?"

_Dates. That's right, this Saturday's a Hogsmeade weekend. I completely forgot._

"I've survived this long, haven't I?" Lily asked. "I'm not going to lose the bet this far in."

"That's what you want then?" Alice sounded perfectly awake now. "To win?"

"I…of course. …That was the point of this, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Alice agreed. "But is that still the goal here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and James," Alice said, laughing a bit at how daft Lily was being. "If you win, that's it. There's no chance."

_Not necessarily… _

"Not really." A flash of lightning struck outside and lit the window for a moment. Lily stared at the rain. "Even if I win there's still a chance."

"Maybe in your eyes," Alice said quietly. "But what about him? It may only seem like a week to you, but in reality it's six years you know."

_I…don't know._

Lily gave Alice a pained expression. "I don't want to deal with it yet."

"When will you?"

"Eventually."

Alice got the fact that it wasn't something that needed to be discussed further then. She looked at the time once more and then looked at Lily. "So…I guess you still can't tell me much but they haven't hurt you yet, right? You're still the same Lily?"

Lily laughed weakly, "Still the same."

"Well you're finished…well I guess it's tomorrow now, right? No matter how this turns out?"

"Right after breakfast," Lily told her.

Alice smiled, "Well we'll have to get in some sort of Alice/Lily time. Okay?"

"Sounds great," Lily agreed. The rain was slowly lightening up and Alice sighed.

"Good. Now I'm going back to sleep," she said. "You should too."

Alice lay back down and tugged the curtains back around her. Lily paid no heed to her advice and instead stayed up. She grabbed a book and large, wool, v-neck sweater, tugging it over her head and she left the dormitory quietly and went down to the common room.

_What if Alice is right? What if all this ends and…there's no other chance. No third option. Either be his girlfriend or be nothing. Ignored. No longer spoken to. There's no in between. I…I don't want that. _

Lily pulled on the sleeves of the cream sweater, burying her hands in it, the baggy material almost drowning her small frame and keeping her warm. She took a seat on a couch and tucked herself into the corner of the arm and back of the couch.

_Don't worry about it now. It's too early to be worrying about this. Just…you're not going to make it through the day if this is all you can think about. Read, okay? Just read._

Lily opened her book to somewhere around the middle and began to read.

And it was half an hour later she fell back asleep.

* * *

At five o'clock James realized he wasn't going back to sleep and he needed to get up. He showered and got ready, all the while not being able to stop thinking about what Lily had said the night before.

**I think maybe you already have… I think maybe you already have… Maybe you already have…** **You already have…**

The exact words were still ringing in his head. After the night's activities he thought maybe going over them enough times, letting it sink in for so long, he might actually understand what it meant. He was hoping that if he thought about it long enough the meaning would come to him. He wanted to believe it meant what he'd thought it did. But he didn't want to be too sure too soon.

**But it's Friday! If she wasn't saying what I thought she was…then the answer's clear. She still doesn't like me. The end. Because that's all there is to it, right?**

He ran his hands through his wet hair in frustration. He didn't want to push for answers but he felt like he was really running out of time.

**Merlin. **

He slung his bag on and headed towards door still frustrated as hell.

**But she does like me! I know she does. She just hasn't freaking admitted it yet! But what if she did just admit it then. And I'll never know and then I'll just go right on along and the bet will end and I will be Lily-less and never able to ask her out again!**

James shook his head to rid the fretful thoughts. He was getting annoyed with himself and felt like he really needed some fresh air. He had cancelled the morning Quidditch practice scheduled for the week, regularly early Tuesday morning, figuring it'd be more beneficial to his side of the bet. This seeing as he'd have more time to spend with Lily rather than have her sit on the side lines and wait for practice to be over.

But as he reached the top of the staircase he doubled back and grabbed his broom, deciding that's what he needed. And it was early enough that he could still grab breakfast after flying.

He stormed down the staircase and practically ran out the portrait hole. Not noticing the no longer sleeping Lily Evans curled up on the couch. She blinked as he past her and in the split moment she caught a glance at his back heading out the portrait she realized who he was.

_James? What the…?_

He hadn't stopped, hadn't wished her good morning, and she was fairly certain he hadn't even seen her there. She debated going after him, wanting to know if everything was alright.

_I swear he had his broom though. Maybe he needs to be alone. I don't want to bother him…intrude on his time to himself. I'll ask him later…if he wants to tell me he can._

Lily sighed and stretched. She closed her book and went back up to her dormitory, getting dressed quietly and trying not to wake the other girls as she moved about the room. When she was finally ready and about to leave the room she glanced back in the mirror. It was almost quarter to six. She still had plenty of time. So she stopped and went back and separated two part of hair at the front and began to braid them back, tying them together at the back of her head and brushing the rest neatly into place.

She smiled at her reflection and then headed down the staircase and into the common room once again. She pulled out her wand and relit the fire that had been extinguished the night before, retaking her seat on the couch and getting comfortable again. A little while later students were slowly making their way down the staircases and gradually filling up the common room, waiting for other students or simply leaving and heading away to their own business; breakfast or otherwise.

_Merlin it's Friday already. Let's see…Saturday we made the bet, made the rules, played Quidditch…karaoke night…Sunday Sirius and James got into that little pretend fight thing…James streaked the Great Hall, we played that question game and then Peter came in sick from popping pink butterbeer. Monday…what happened on Monday? The morning after…oh! James and Sirius came into our dormitory to wake me up, morons, and then later on we went for patrols and that was the night of the party. Seven Minutes in freaking Heaven. And the waffle…Merlin, don't think about that; you'll make yourself sick all over again. Okay, and then Tuesday was when we planned the prank? Right, and I actually got to spend some time talking to Alice in herbology. And she told me about those dimwit rumours. And then Wednesday we carried out the prank. Got into a fight. Snuck out to Hogsmeade where Sirius got drunk and spilled everything and I found out they're all illegal animagi. That was fun. And then yesterday, fixed my ankle, talked to Black, and taught 'The Thinking of Girls 101.' Wow. I should document this somehow._

It was while she was considering actually writing all of her weeks activities down when Sirius, Remus and Peter finally came down the boys' staircase. "Good morning Lily," the boys chorused, all jumping the last few stairs single file. Even Peter made the attempt, stumbling and landing on the last step.

Lily smiled at them, "Good morning fellow Marauders."

"Won't be saying that much longer Evans," Sirius sang.

"Don't sound so happy Black."

"I'm actually not," Sirius told her, the three of them walking over to her couch. "I'll admit, it's kind of fun having someone to share it all with."

_Aw thanks Black._

Lily stood up, "To breakfast?" she asked.

They nodded. "Hey, have you seen James?" Remus asked her as they went towards the portrait hole.

"Um, yeah actually." Lily pulled her bag higher on her shoulder. "He came through the common room earlier, before six. He had his broom with him so…"

Remus looked a little concerned. "Did you talk to him?"

_I don't even think he saw me._

"No," she said, "I didn't." Remus and Sirius both nodded, giving each other knowing looks. "Should I have? Is something wrong?"

"Nah," Sirius waved it off. "He's probably just feeling some separation anxiety, having not flown in over five days and all."

They went to breakfast and Lily sat through breakfast quietly, still wondering if James was really okay. Not buying a word of Sirius' 'separation anxiety' bit. Even when Alice sat down beside her to make sure she was okay Lily just nodded along until Alice agreed to head off to class without her. And when James finally walked through those huge wooden doors Lily's eyes locked on to his and never left them until her sat directly across from her and broke the gaze himself.

**Is she alright?**

_Merlin, is he okay?_

James helped himself to breakfast and ate, laughing along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter and nodding in agreement to whatever Remus was telling him.

Lily couldn't stop staring at James. He looked…distressed in a sort of way. His hair looked like the wind had attacked it, and his hands had been through it more than a few times, his tie was hanging messily around his neck and not in the normal loosely tied way he usually wore it, not even the way Sirius' was usually just crossed over and hanging. It looked like it had been tied, originally, but tugged at too many times. Lily wanted to reach over a fix it for him, but fought to keep her hands in her lap.

When the Great Hall was near completely cleared out James had finished eating and they left for class.

As they went through the doors Lily slowed down until she was behind them all and walking alongside James. "Are you okay?" she asked him tentatively.

He nodded without looking at her. "You?"

"I'm fine," she answered slowly.

_Why wouldn't I be?_

They went to the dungeons and to potions. James sat with Remus, without a word to Lily as to why, and nudged Sirius from his regular spot with Remus over to Lily. Sirius obliged and Peter frowned in his lonesome.

"Hey, Evans," Sirius gave her a salute-wave sort of thing and a half-smile. "I'll be working with you then."

_Oh Merlin. Thank heavens it's just note-taking._

Slughorn began to write the review lesson on the board and Lily started to copy down the list of potions and ingredients. She was about halfway down the page and writing down side notes and uses of everything listed when she caught sight of Sirius' parchment. His quill was hovering above his page, not yet dipped in ink or making contact with the parchment. He just stared down at it like he was reading something non-existent.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You better start writing this down or it will take you forever to catch up."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her and shot a look at her parchment. "Evans," he smirked, "you better keep writing it or _we'll_ never catch up."

_Right. Shoot. Okay veritaserum…and…wait._

"_We'll_," Lily repeated. "Oh no, Black, I refuse to do the work for you."

"You won't have to," he told her. "I know how to duplicate them easily."

_Lily Evans, you stand your ground. He'll never learn if you just let him-_

Sirius leaned over to see her parchment and then looked at the board. "Evans," he sang, "you're falling behind."

"Well at least I'm doing something," Lily muttered. Realizing he was right she quickly went back to copying the notes.

_He is not going to copy my notes. He is not going to copy my notes. He is not going to copy my notes. He is not going to copy my notes…_

"Look," Sirius began, "when you think about the world only has so much energy, right? And why should we waste _two_ people's energy taking petty little _notes_ when we could use one and get the same results."

"Actually Black," Lily continued to start straight ahead at the board, "there is a difference in the results. That being in one case you learn nothing and it's not fair, and the other you work for what you need and all work is equal."

Sirius sighed. He seemed to let this sink in for a moment before bothering her again. "Or…you could write the notes, and I'll entertain you," Sirius suggested.

"In what _world_," Lily started, "would I agree to _that_?"

_Merlin Black. Well aren't you going insane?_

"Prongs goes with it. I can break Moony too sometimes. Peter would, but half the time I take pity on _him_ and give him my notes."

Lily considered this. "Well, maybe."

Sirius took in her expression and where she was looking. Straight at James and Remus. "What do you want Evans?"

"You wouldn't be able to tell me what they're talking about, now would you Black?" she questioned curiously.

"I would be able to, maybe," Sirius smirked. "But only under veritaserum."

_Truth-telling potion. Great._

Her expression fell.

"Sorry Evans. That conversation is classified information."

Lily scowled in response. "Well fine. No notes for you Black."

"I'll get them from Prongs," Sirius said dismissively with a shrug.

"Does it look like he's copying any of this down?" Lily asked with a nod in James' direction. He and Remus were talking quietly, obviously about something important. Neither of them were even glancing at the professor. "And you know, Slughorn's already keeping an eye on your work in particular. After that essay you _stole_ from the Ravenclaw."

Sirius sighed. "Compromise. You give me your notes, and I'll answer just about any questions you have about him—_aside_ from the conversation he's having now."

_It's better than sitting here bored to death. These notes are useless anyway. I swear to Merlin we did this exact same page two weeks ago. Alright. _

"Deal," Lily agreed.

"Good. But those notes better be worth it, Evans," he warned.

Lily nodded. "Sure Black. I promise you they're worth it."

_At least for me. And probably you too. I can't imagine you'd have the old ones._

"Okay. Ask away," Sirius waved her on and she smiled.

"When's his birthday?"

"March 27th, why?" Sirius gave her a suspicious look.

She smirked, "I don't know. These things are just good to know." She thought for a moment.

_It would be rude to ask another person about his family. What else…?_

"What's his favourite food?"

"Pumpkin cheesecake," Sirius answered instantly. "Mum makes great pumpkin cheesecake. She doesn't cook or bake much, mostly the house elves handle that, but every holiday it's there on the table. She's very proud of it too."

_Aww. Cute._

"His favourite colour?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "Doesn't have one," he told her finally. "If you want to know a secret, it used to be green before Hogwarts. Slytherins have soiled the damn innocence of it though."

"When did he actually like me?" It sort of slipped out. Something she had been thinking to ask but still debating. Once the words had left her mouth though, she realized she had no desire to take them back.

"Well," Sirius looked over at his best mate and touched his hair, making sure it was still in place, "he noticed you on the first day. Mentioned you a few times actually, the girl with the fiery red hair. And then later on he got your name and was sort of focused on you, you know? Your name was first to pop up when it came to girls."

Lily couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips.

"It developed over second year I suppose. And by third he was determined. And you," Sirius glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and she went back to taking notes, "you already had an idea of him I guess."

"Not a very good one," she mumbled.

Sirius shook his head just as a note appeared on his desk.

James watched Lily and Sirius with interest. Tuning out of his conversation with Remus for a moment, he watched as she smiled and blushed a bit and her hair fell around his face when she leaned over to write again. He waited as Sirius opened his note.

**What are you two talking about?**

Sirius looked at James, then Lily, then the note. He flipped it over and scribbled on the back, reaching over Lily to dip into her inkwell.

_**You actually, if you must know.**_

He sent the note and it was back on his desk in seconds.

**What's she saying?**

James' messy scrawl was even worse and it was clear he had written hastily. The apostrophe crossed his 't' and 'saying?' looked more like 'aagingz.' Sirius read his reply and sighed.

_**Well first she wanted to know what you and Moony are talking about. Way to be subtle Prongs. And now she's asking me all about you.**_

**As long as you're saying good things, go with it. You didn't tell her about what we're discussing, right?**

_**No. I hope you realize how awesome I am. I swear, every day you should be getting down on your knees and thanking Merlin that you have me as a brother. **_

**I'll make sure I set aside some time for that.**

_**I'm not kidding. Evans is one hard headed gal. And, quick question, what was it you named that bear you had as a kid?**_

**Captain? What about him?**

_**Nothing. **_

**Wait! Don't tell her about that stuff!**

_**Hey, you've caused me enough shit. I'll tell her what I like. **_

**And of course, I'll be thanking Merlin for handing me you. I asked him for a puppy and instead I got you.**

_**Well you can thank him for that too. I'm a two in one package! Now, was Captain brown or white?**_

* * *

_**A/N: **_Okay, I am so sorry this took so long. I was away for a little over a week and didn't have access to a computer. And then when I got back I was all ready to finish this chapter up and post but my computer threw a tantrum.

But enough excuses I want to thank you all for every review you sent even if I was slightly unresponsive. And I'd also like to point out that this story is slowly coming to a close. It's now Friday in the bet and it ends Saturday after Lily and James eat breakfast. So we'll see how it all goes.

Question: You can either guess how the ending is going to go down, or you can tell me what my favourite type of cake is.

A couple review responses:

Valerie: I'm not sure what to make of that. But thank you for reviewing.

SevenDeadlyQuinns: no withdrawl and yes, this story is a shot in the dark for browsers but I'm hoping you're liking it.

YlvaTjelle: I'm really hoping you'll keep that promise!

**Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2! **

Anyways,

Scarlett


	24. Running to Skip

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You're all so great. I can't believe I hit 700 reviews! that's the most yet and I'm really hoping you'll all keep them coming.

Constructive criticism or even just telling me what you liked is always great to hear! Now, go on and read.

* * *

James turned to Remus. "So? What do you think I should do?"

Remus gave him a pained look. "I don't want to make the choice for you. It's not my-"

"I don't want you to choose _for_ me," James told him quickly. "I just want your verdict. What you _think_ I should do."

**Come on Moony. Help me out.**

Remus sighed. "I don't know, Prongs. I mean, maybe it shouldn't be you deciding anything."

James ran a hand through his hair as everyone in the room began to pack up their things and head out the door to lunch. "But…"

Remus put a hand on his shoulder, "Man, you have to let it play out. What's the point if she doesn't even want to be?"

"Maybe if she _has_ to be my girlfriend it will grow on her until she _wants_ to be," James stressed. Even he could hear how desperate he sounded, but he really didn't care. He just wanted everything to work out.

"Really?" Remus asked him incredulously.

"Fine."

"Sorry, Prongs."

"Hey, no sweat, right?" James said. He felt doubt creeping up on as he shrugged, "She loves me. She just hasn't said it yet."

Remus nodded without a word.

"Lunch!" Sirius yelled from across the room. The entire class had emptied out quickly and five of them were the only ones left, besides Slughorn who had disappeared into the back room.

Lily was walking over to them with Sirius and Peter. James and Remus grabbed their stuff and James made a beeline for the door, leaving his four friends behind him. Lily stared after him and then looked at Remus.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Remus told her quickly.

_Right. Because 'it's nothing' and 'don't worry about it' are oh-so reassuring. _

They went out the door and headed to the Great Hall. They sat through lunch relatively silent and before the bell had even gone James was up and striding quickly to the door.

"Really." Lily stared down the three boys she was left with. "Is he alright?"

"He's fi-" Sirius started.

"Don't you lie to me," Lily warned. "He's fine? You expect me to believe," she point out the door, "_that's_ fine?"

The three of them looked at each other.

_Well? …fine. I'll find out for myself._

Lily raced out the door and into the corridor. Her gaze swept through the hall before landing on the messy, dark-haired boy. "James!" she called.

_Oh don't you pretend you didn't hear me!_

"James!" she yelled.

He could hear her calling, loud and clear, but he just continued down the corridor like it was nothing.

**Just walk. **

"Merlin," Lily cried exasperatedly. "Potter!"

He froze momentarily. Hearing his surname roll off her tongue was surprising. And he realized how used he got to hearing 'James' from her. How comfortable it was. He shook it off and kept walking. He wasn't even going to the Defence Against the Dark Arts anymore as he turned, looked over his shoulder, then subtly slipped through a tapestry.

**Passageway.**

Lily watched him go through the patterned fabric and ran to catch up. She pulled the tapestry back and James was gone.

_What the hell?_

It was weird. Countless times before James had chased after Lily this way. Racing through corridors and calling her name. Now the roles were reversed and Lily could understand how frustrating this really was.

She stepped closer into the dark alcove the tapestry hid and realized it wasn't an alcove at all. It was a secret passageway. Trusting that it couldn't be too dangerous considering James had already gone through, Lily followed into the passageway and found herself in a colder, narrow, passage with cool stone walls on either side on her. It was dark and as she touched the cold wall she realized she had no idea where she was going.

She hurried through the passageway quickly and quietly. Her steps were light and barely audible, a good thing since she didn't want James to go running when he heard her.

Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light and then she saw him. Only a few feet ahead, James was leaning against the wall, his back against one side and his feet wedging him in the corridor against the other side.

_Merlin. What's…?_

James' head was down; both hands were lost in his hair. He was hunched over so much that Lily thought he might hit his head on the opposite wall of the narrow passage.

She approached him slowly. "James?"

**Oh Merlin. She wasn't supposed to-**

"James," Lily repeated firmly.

He shook his head.

**No. **

"James Potter, would you just grow up?" Lily snapped.

He looked up quickly. "You're telling me to grow up?"

"Yes." She swallowed.

"I think I've done enough thanks."

"Yet you're the one running away from me," Lily said. She laughed dryly, "You can run. But you can't hide."

James sighed and chuckled lowly. "What is it with you?" he asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"No you're not," James said, pushing himself off the wall.

_Well, actually, I meant it like 'pardon?' but okay._

"What are you talking about?" She stepped closer to him to see his face, trying to read his expression.

"I'm talking about this," he gestured between them, the very _little_ distance between them Lily was realizing. "I don't know what's going on anymore."

_This is a really small…narrow passageway. Merlin, there's not enough space in here._

Lily looked down at her feet. Now, she was the one wanting to run. She felt like she needed to get away from there.

She tried to process a full thought but nothing was coming to her. "I…I don't know. I just…"

James moved even closer to her, which, frankly, really wasn't helping her in forming coherent thoughts. He lifted her chin to look at her, green meeting hazel, and then he waited. He wanted to see something, anything that would tell him it was okay.

She stared up at him looking a little hopefully. James' gaze slid down to her lips. Lily licked her lips self-consciously and they parted slightly. Then James saw it, in her emerald green eyes.

Lily watched James' eyes darkened and she let out short, shaky, sigh. James leaned in slowly, closer until his lips hovered just above hers. "Lily…" His breath was warm on her lips and something about the way he said it, almost like a question but not quite. Expectant. Like he was the one who was ready to wait for her to decide. Not the other way around.

She placed her hands on his chest. Seeing how much of a rejection this must have looked like, she slid one hand down his arm to linger on his hand.

**Damn it.**

James' head dropped down tiredly.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "And…don't tell me I'm not. I am. Really."

_Merlin, Lily, what have you done?_

She let out a sigh. "James, I-"

**That's enough.**

"Do you like me?" he interrupted. For once Lily was grateful that she was cut off. She had no idea what she was planning to say.

"I-"

Again he interrupted. "Even as a friend. At all?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

'**Yes' what?**

"James, you're definitely my friend," she smiled.

_He can't possibly doubt that, can he?_

**Whatever happens you know you got somewhere. **

James nodded. "Good. …We should get out of here." Lily murmured her agreement and then looked back the way she came.

"Where does this take you?" she asked.

James looked ahead. "Not sure really. Hey, are you hungry?"

Lily gave him a funny look, something he didn't see as he was staring ahead down the passageway. "We just came from lunch," she reminded him.

"Yeah, except I didn't ask if you were _at_ lunch, I asked if you hungry," he told her.

_No-well maybe a little. But we should go to class. And I was just at lunch, I shouldn't be hungry._

James looked back at her and shook his head. "Well I for one am hungry and I know for a fact you didn't eat much at lunch either. So come on, we'll see where this takes us and then go to the kitchens."

"We have DADA," she pointed out, knowing he was already aware of this.

He smirked at her.

**Like she thinks I don't know this. **

"No," she said. "No, no, no. I won't."

James started to walk through the rest of the passageway and Lily was following behind him. "That's what you think," he chuckled. "But you know you're not going."

Lily glared at his back. About three minutes later they reached a wall. A solid wall.

"James?" Lily started worriedly. "Should we turn around and-"

"No, no," he said quickly. "I remember this one. Give me a second."

He pulled out his wand and looked at the stone wall. He tapped the corners and then a stone off to the side that disappeared into where the corner where the two walls met. The stone shifted inward and then the entire wall moved to the right. Dust few up in a cloud in front of them and James waved it away. "Yeah, we haven't used this in a while," he said between coughs.

Lily followed James as he stepped out of the passageway and the wall slid shut behind them. They were facing the courtyard and the autumn breeze picked up, a blustery day really, and Lily smiled into the wind.

**Oh shit.**

James grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her, rather roughly, behind one of the pillars. Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she stared at him. She realized that he wasn't looking at her though; he was staring across the yard.

_What's he looking at?_

A moment later James quickly let go of her arm, and apologized. "McGonagall," he explained. "Wait a couple minutes. Don't want to cross paths with her in the next corridor."

_Oh._

"Kitchens, then?" he asked.

Lily nodded slightly but made no move to step forward. Her back was pressed against the stone and she pressed the palm of her hand flat against the pillar.

_Merlin, Lily, you're disappointed? About what? What do you have to be disappointed about?_

James gave her an odd look.

**We did say we were going to the kitchens, right?**

His expression morphed into a charming half smile. He reached out and took her hand, tugging her forward. His hand was big, encasing her small and warm one, it was dry and a little rough from Quidditch and flying that morning but Lily didn't mind the slightest.

She let him pull her through the corridors and towards the kitchens, walking calmly past classrooms and sprinting like their lives depended on it everywhere else. James quietly told her about walking past the staff and students they passed. They needed to look calm and composed; walk like they owned the place and nobody would question them.

Lily said, "Okay." She looked ahead at the Entrance Hall and realized technically they were headed right back to where they started, the Great Hall. But, she admitted, she'd never had more fun going in circles. There was no one around them now, no classrooms, no professors, and no students. Lily stopped walking and James stepped back to stand next to her, forced to, having not yet let go of her hand and not wanting to.

"What's the matter?" James bent down to look her in the eye, his face just inches from hers and a playful glint in his eyes.

Her expression mirrored his as she smiled up at him. "I'll race you," she challenged.

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I don't think so."

"That's because you know I'll beat you."

"I don't think so," he repeated.

She poked his chest. "Well then come on. Let's go."

"Fine," James agreed. "Ready?" he let go of her hand and they both turned to face where they were going, shuffling to stand beside each other fairly.

"Set?" Lily asked.

"Go," James finished. They both took off running, through the Entrance Hall and around the corner down the staircase.

Lily ran the stairs quickly while James jumped the second of half of them effortlessly. They ran through the next corridor, Lily laughing as she was ahead of him and then suddenly she wasn't.

Or, maybe she was. If it was just your feet that had to make it there first then she was winning. However, if it was the upper half of your body then she was behind James. This, seeing as he had scooped her up and thrown her over his shoulder and was now walking calmly toward the portrait of fruit.

_Hey! No fair!_

"You cheater!" Lily yelled as she pounded her fist on his back.

"Cheat?" James asked innocently. "How in the world did I cheat?"

_His hand…_

Lily was momentarily distracted by the fact that James had thrown her over his shoulder and was holding onto her with one hand to make sure she didn't fall. One hand that was dangerously close to her arse.

She swatted his hand down. "You cheated!"

"You never made any rules," James told her. "I find it a little impossible to cheat when there are no rules."

"It was a race. I thought 'no picking up the opponent and therefore stopping their run' was a given."

**Really? Well you should have been clearer then.**

"I suppose next time you challenge any sort of contest you'll remember to mention that then." She could hear the smirk in his voice and she scowled.

"It was only because you knew I was winning," she said haughtily.

He shook his head, "I was letting you win."

"So now you're a cheater _and_ a liar," she commented. "Lovely. It's no wonder you've got everybody at your feet."

"Busted," he chuckled.

He tickled the pear with the hand that wasn't holding on to Lily and then stepped inside the kitchens.

James returned Lily to the ground and they sat down. Immediately a house elf was by their side. "Mister Potter!" Kitz exclaimed.

"Good afternoon, Kitz," James greeted. "You remember Miss Evans."

"Kitz is happy to see yous again," the little elf squeaked.

Lily smiled, "Wonderful to see you again as well."

"What can Kitz get yous?"

James turned to Lily, "What do you feel like?"

_Hmm…I don't know…_

"Whatever you're having," she decided.

James looked at Kitz, "You wouldn't happen to know how to make cannoli, would you?"

Kitz nodded excitedly, "Kitz and house elves can make them easy."

"Great," James grinned.

**Mmmm cannoli.**

"'Start right away Mister Potter," Kitz said then rushed off to join the other elves.

"Yeah," James said. "They're these little fried tube-ish things. And then they fill them with this delicious cream stuff and-"

"No, no, I know what a cannoli is," Lily cut into his explanation quickly. "But, I was just surprised at the request is all."

James smiled sheepishly, "Mum says I have a bit of a sweet tooth."

Lily laughed, "I can see that. Waffles, cannoli, pumpkin cheesecake."

"I love pumpkin cheesecake!" he exclaimed. "Mum makes it every time were home and at least a few times over the summer. It's only thing she can make really everything else is made-"

"by the house elves," Lily finished with him.

"Yeah," James nodded. "Hey, how did you know—Sirius."

_Oh…right._

**What exactly did he **_**tell**_** her?**

Lily shrugged, "Yeah."

"Well it really is good pumpkin cheesecake, you should try it sometime."

"I guess I should."

"So, what do you want to do once we're out of here? Out of Hogwarts, I mean," he asked.

"Oh. Merlin, I still can't believe this is our last year," she said. "I don't want to leave Hogwarts. And I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I'm done here. I mean, I used to think I'd try and work at the Ministry but I'm not so sure I'd like it anymore. Maybe I'll become an auror."

"Really?" James asked.

"Yeah, really."

"Same here," he told her.

**I can't believe she wants to be an auror too. I guess…I mean obviously she could do it; she's extremely talented but…wow. I just assumed she **_**would**_** be working at the Ministry or something.**

"Or, at least, I wanted to be an auror," James continued. "I still do, but…have you heard about that organization Dumbledore is creating? It's kind of a secret, so we're not sure if it's just rumoured or not. But supposedly, he's forming an organization to fight against…You-Know-Who."

"No…" Lily said.

_Voldemort? The one trying to get rid of the muggle-borns. Sick and prejudice._

"Well, we don't even know if it exists really," James explained. "For all we know, it could just be one big rumour. But, if it does exist, I want to join that."

"Oh. Sounds interesting," she said. "I hope it isn't just a rumour. Merlin knows an organization like that is needed. The Ministry seems pretty useless."

**The Ministry **_**is**_** pretty useless.**

Kitz returned to where they were sitting and put a plate down in front of them with about a dozen of cannoli.

James thanked the elf as she headed back to the other elves and then turned to the plate. They each grabbed one off the plate and bit into it.

Lily hummed in content as she savoured the dessert. "These are delicious."

James nodded in agreement and then fit the popped the rest of it in his mouth, already holding another one in his hand.

Lily laughed. "You weren't kidding when you said you were hungry."

"Marauders," he told her, swallowing and pointing his next cannolo at her, "do not joke about food. Especially not food as heavenly as this." He bit into the cannolo and licked the icing sugar off his fingers.

Lily shook her head at him and then ate the pastry she was holding. James watched as some of the cream-filling stayed on her lips.

"Lily," he fought back a chuckle, "you have…" he pointed on his own face to show her.

_Oh. Crap._

Lily blushed a bit and licked her lips. James watched her and then looked back at the plate.

_Oh Merlin, kill me now._

They finished their snack/dessert within the next twenty minutes, thanked the house elves and then left the kitchens. They were wandering back towards the Entrance Hall when Lily sighed.

James looked at her, "Don't tell me you want to go back to class."

"No," she said, "I don't."

"So then what would you like to do?"

Lily shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never skipped class before you know. What are you supposed to do?"

**Well the Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow so there's no point in leaving the castle.**

"You feel like going for a walk?" he offered.

_Why not?_

Lily nodded, "Sure."

They headed outside and towards the lake. The cool autumn wind whipped Lily's air around her face. She pushed it back, gathering it behind her neck and trying to keep it from getting tangled.

James glanced over at her as he stuck his hands in his robe pockets. "I like your hair like that," he complimented.

**She can't hide behind it but it's still down and long and red. **

_Sirius was right._

"Thanks."

They walked along in a comfortable silence, kicking at the fallen leaves and listening to the dry crunch they made under their feet.

Lily found herself continuously staring at James.

_Do his eyes change colour? I mean, I swear they're like lighter and brighter hazel when he's happy and…they're hazel. Kind of a warm brown but lighter and with flecks of gold and green…_

James looked at his watch as they were making their way back following the edge of the lake. "DADA is almost finished."

"You think they even notice we're not there?" Lily asked.

"Probably," James replied. "But maybe not the professor; only everyone else. They wouldn't rat though."

_I hope not_.

"We should go back inside," Lily told him.

James nodded and followed her back to the castle. Once they were actually inside and walking through the corridors again the last bell to signal class's end rang and students were pouring out of classrooms.

Majority of the students looked drained and exhausted and it took Lily a minute to remember that it was Friday. It was probably a long week for everyone and it was finally over. Students were heading to their common rooms to relax, some of them idling in the corridors, talking to friends.

James and Lily went straight to Gryffindor tower and into the common room where they were met by Peter, Sirius, and Remus.

Sirius jumped up from his comfortable position on the couch to face James. "What the-" He stopped as he looked from James to Lily.

**No, shut it Padfoot don't-**

"Where have you two been?" he asked suggestively.

"Shut up Black," Lily rolled her eyes and traipsed over to the couch herself, plunking herself down beside Remus. She leaned back and smiled, grateful for the warmth the fire was giving off. "What are we doing today?" she asked, closing her eyes and basking in the warmth after being outside.

"Well, Evans, seeing as it's your last full day as a Marauder we thought we'd throw a party," Sirius said. He flopped back into an armchair as James came to join them.

**When was this decided?**

Remus nodded in agreement to Sirius' plans. "A pool party," he said.

_Wait. Like…in the lake? Who the hell would be idiotic enough to go swimming in November in the lake?_

**Oh I remember this coming up before. But I thought we said we'd never be able to throw something like that without getting our arses thrown out of here. Or, that's an exaggeration; we'd just get in deep shit with McGonagall.**

"Where," Lily asked, "would you throw a pool party here? In the lake?"

"Don't be silly Evans," Sirius laughed. "You'd have to be _really_ stupid to jump in the lake this time of year."

"The prefect's bathroom," James muttered.

Lily heard him and gasped, "The prefect's bathroom? You can't do that! That's for prefects, heads, and Quidditch captains only. The professors wouldn't allow it, McGonagall would kill you!"

"Well that's why we won't tell them," Peter piped.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "And don't worry about Minnie, it's not like she'll be strolling in there."

James sat up and leaned forward on the edge of the couch. "Alright, so who's coming then?"

"Us," Sirius told him. "These two Hufflepuff girls I met earlier and a sixth year Ravenclaw."

**So this is a hook-up pool party.**

_Wonderful. Just grand._

"And you both know the password to get in, right?" Sirius checked.

Lily and James both nodded.

_Melon head._

**Melon head.**

"Great," Sirius clapped his hands together. "Then after diner we'll come back here, grab our stuff and meet the other girls down there. We'll change there so there's less of a chance of getting caught. This is going to be awesome."

_I'm so sure._

* * *

A/N: So I would have posted this later tonight but then I remembered I wasn't going to have time because I'm seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2!

I know that the time it takes me to update is getting longer and I'm sorry. I have a lot going on right now so I'm just happy to get a break to work on this stuff.

So thanks for reading and please please please please review! This story is about to end and, like Fred and George, I think if it's going it should go out with a bang.

question: Have you heard of Laura Secord? When she travelled to deliver the message what animal do people claim she took with her?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	25. A Pool Party and Busted

The five of them sat down at dinner, the four boys excited as ever. Lily, on the other hand, was rather anxious about the 'pool party.' Anxious in one of those awful, stomach twisting, worried ways. She was sitting beside Peter and Alice, Frank on the other side of Alice and James, Sirius, and Remus across from them.

"So," Remus said, "these girls you invited, who are they?"

Sirius sat up taller in his seat as he took a chunk out of the chicken drumstick he held. He pointed at Hufflepuff table. "The one with the ponytail, brown hair, tall."

They all looked over and spotted the girl he was talking about, nodding.

_She is pretty and definitely not in one of those trashy ways._

"That one's all yours Moony," Sirius told him.

_Objectify much?_

Alice shot him a look and rolled her eyes while Lily just shook her head.

"Her name's Isabel," Alice corrected.

"No," Remus groaned in response to Sirius. "I'm not going to-" Sirius ignored the beginnings of Remus' protests and continued.

"And the Ravenclaw right there," Sirius pointed with his fork this time at a petite blonde who was apparently sixteen but looked about fourteen. She was cute with one of those bright-eyed and really put-together looks, "That's Pete's. Sophie."

Peter grinned and blushed, looking away from the girl quickly. Sirius turned to look at the Hufflepuff table, "And I've got Kristen."

**Oh Merlin. Kristen? Really Pads? What, have you dated everyone, you're cycling through again?**

"Kristen?" Remus asked. "You think that's a good idea, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged, "I don't think it's a bad one."

"Kristen? Kristen Winstead?" Lily asked them. "Why is she such a bad idea?"

"She isn't," Sirius shrugged again. "I don't know what their problem is."

"Our problem?" James asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, do you not remember what happened last May? No recollection at all?"

"Oh, we're past that!" Sirius protested.

_What happened last May?_

James caught Lily's lost look and turned to her to explain. "See, Kristen hooked up with Sirius at one of our MOWW parties and-"

"I'm sorry," Lily interrupted, "but, MOWW party?"

"Middle Of the Week Wednesday party," they answered in chorus. "Like what we threw on Monday," James added.

"But that was Monday. Why do you call it-"

"We moved it," James said quickly, waving the topic away with a dismissive hand. "Anyway, so Kristen and Padfoot hooked up. And everything was fine." Lily opened her mouth to ask another question when James continued. "_Until_ they hooked up again. And again. And again. And this continued and everything was fine. _Until _Sirius found out Kristen was telling people she and Sirius were dating. Except Padfoot here, didn't want to date her. But instead of telling her this once he found out, he just kept hooking up with her."

"Even though she believed they had an exclusive relationship and to him any relationship between them was none existent," Remus threw in.

Sirius shook his head, "It wasn't my fault."

"You pig," Alice scoffed.

"And then," James went on, "he went and got with Katie Saffer, and Kristen found out about it."

_And threw a gasket no doubt._

"She went ballistic," Sirius closed his eyes and sighed.

"It couldn't have been that bad…" Lily said slowly.

Remus grimaced, "It was pretty bad."

**Pretty funny too.**

"She threw a goblet at _my head_!" Sirius exclaimed.

"So you should see why this isn't a good idea," Remus told him.

Sirius calmed his expression instantly. "It didn't hit me though."

"The spoon did," Peter piped.

**Lucky it was closer to hand than her knife.**

"I don't care," Sirius said. "She's hot. Done deal. I already invited her."

"Invited her where?" Alice asked.

"To the-"

"Nowhere," Sirius cut in.

"Where?" Alice pressed, twisting in her seat to look directly at Lily for answers.

Lily shot Sirius' a look. "Pool party," Lily disclosed quietly. "Prefect's bathroom."

**Oh my Merlin.**

Sirius looked at James then opened his mouth. Remus gave James a look as well but James shook his head at both of them.

**Don't say it.**

"Oooh," Alice tapped Lily excitedly. "Can I come?"

"Sure," Sirius answered distractedly.

"Frank too," Lily told them.

They nodded and as they slowly finished up dinner Lily found she was sort looking forward to the party now. When they had finally finished and left the Great Hall they all walked towards Gryffindor Tower. The minute they stepped inside the boys said they were going to get their swim stuff and meet Alice and Lily back in the common room when they were ready.

In their dormitory Remus and Sirius turned to James. "Well?" Remus asked.

"What?" James replied going through his trunk for swim trunks.

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "What the hell was that?"

**Shit.**

"Dinner," James said plainly.

"Mate, you know what we're talking about," Remus said. "What was that about? You just…"

"Let's deal with later," James sighed. He found his trunks and pulled them out, grabbing his towel on his way out before jogging out the door and down the stairs to the common room. Sirius, Remus, and a very delayed Peter quickly gathered their stuff and then followed behind him.

* * *

Lily entered the dormitory and frantically ran over to her trunk, rummaging through everything madly. "Alice!" she shrieked. "I have nothing to wear!"

Alice was already at her own trunk, tossing stuff aside to come up with her pretty, blue, tankini. "Lily," she laughed, "you have nothing to wear? It's a pool party. Wear a swimsuit."

"But which one?"

"You have more than one here?"

"I have two," Lily said glumly. In all honesty she would have none, if it wasn't for the rare, scorching hot days they sometimes got at the end of the year, during which, some of the Gryffindor girls got extra courageous and decided to jump into the lake.

Lily held up the two swimsuits in question. One was a one-piece that was black and fitted with spaghetti straps and a cream, netted mid-section that, from a distance, made her tummy look bare. The other, was a pale blue bikini, so pale it almost looked white. It had thicker, halter straps and an equally wide band that clasped around her back.

"Wear that one," Alice pointed to the blue one. "No offence, but black is hard for you to pull off as a top."

_None taken. Redheads need to have a store that has clothes specifically coloured for them._

Lily nodded and then got changed, both her and Alice throwing their school robes back on top of their suits. Lily was about to go down to the common room when Alice yanked her back into the room.

"Ow, Alice! What?" she demanded.

Alice sighed and handed Lily a tube. "Waterproof mascara," she explained.

Lily took the tube and looked in the mirror, applying the mascara carefully. Alice tugged at the hair elastic around the two little braids Lily had tied back.

"Ow! Alice!" Lily yelped as Alice tugged again, none too gently, on her hair.

"Sorry," Alice winced with her. "But if they get wet they aren't going to look so good." Alice ran her fingers over the braids and worked through them until they were undone and the crimped hair fell to frame Lily's face. In a weird way, it was a look that worked for her. Alice grabbed a spray bottle off her trunk and spritzed Lily's hair a couple of times. Lily went to protest but Alice cut in quickly. "It will make your hair even softer in the water. Luminous. Plus, it smells really good."

"Where do you _get_ this stuff?" Lily asked.

Alice shrugged and sprayed her own hair a couple times before pulling Lily out the door.

Right before they went down the stairs Alice stopped. "Lily, you realize there's someone for everybody, right?"

_Um…what?_

"Alice, we had the conversation about soul mates and crap last week. Can we talk about this later, I kind of want to-"

"Not soul mates," Alice snapped. "I meant for this pool party thing. They're paired up. It's a hook up thing."

"No," Lily said. "Sirius invited three people. There's four of them."

"And one of you," Alice pointed out.

_Oh Merlin._

"Alice, no, okay? No," she said. "Can we just go, and have fun. And then it will all be over. Can we not have to discuss this? Please?"

Alice sighed, short and huffy through her nose, but nodded nonetheless. "Fine."

"Thank you," Lily said tightly. She shook her head to clear everything out and then took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

They went down to the common and the boys stood, clearly having been waiting for them. They went through the portrait hole and then walked through the corridors calmly.

_Walk like you own the place and no one will question you. It's not even after hours now, calm down!_

They went to the fifth floor and James and Lily went up to the front of the group, leading them to the door so they could give the password. James gestured for her to go ahead and give the password but she shook her head and let him step forward and do it himself.

"_Melon head_," he said clearly and then they were let inside.

_Easy._

**And we're in.**

Apparently Alice and Lily had taken longer than they'd thought getting ready. The minute they stepped inside it was hot. Really hot. Steam was rising off the water that was filling the swimming pool-sized tub and the three girls Sirius had invited had already slipped into the water and had their heads back against the ledge. Lily inhaled deeply, the scent of soap and too much too strong perfume filling her nostrils. She turned to see that everybody was already stripping down to their swimsuits around her. Alice was out of her robes and slowly making her way over to the water, pulling Frank along with her, smiling.

Lily suddenly felt self-conscious as she watched the Marauders throw their towels aside and get into the water. She mentally berated herself.

_Lily you're being ridiculous. And now you're the only one left out here. If you were trying to go unnoticed now you've failed miserably. They're going to wonder what's wrong with you._

She listened as the other girls giggled as the boys went into the water, splashing them a bit as they passed.

_How annoying. If you didn't want to get wet then what hell are you doing here?_

Kristen was giggling uncontrollably as Sirius moved in close to her, already making nice. Lily figured they were all busy enough that no one would notice her and she definitely did not want the attention.

She shrugged out of her robe and put it off to the side. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shuffled herself over to the huge tub and carefully dipped a foot in.

_Merlin that's hot._

**Merlin she's hot. Beautiful, too. But…wow Lily.**

She flinched back a bit. James watched her and then breast-stroked over effortlessly. He ducked low in the water so it was just his head above the water and the tops of his shoulders as he moved through the water. "Don't think about it," he told her. "You just have to…submerge yourself."

She shook her head no. "I don't know how you guys stand this. It's really hot."

Lily sat down at the edge of the tub/pool. She let her legs dangle into the water, the heat making her want to pull them right back out again. She pressed her lips together and told herself to give it a minute and it wouldn't seem so hot anymore. Now, it seemed even more humid, being even closer to the steam, and Lily could feel her hair dampening and the bottom layers beginning to stick to her back.

James came up even closer to her; they were pretty far from everyone else, considering how big the tub was. They were off to one side with everyone gathered together on the other, the taps separating them from view just slightly, except for Remus and Isabel who seemed to be having an innocent conversation to the right of the group.

James placed one hand on either side of her legs, caging her in and he moved even closer. Lily absentmindedly began moving her legs in circles, the soap bubbles on the surface swirling to reveal the pink water underneath, no doubt the girls' doing. James hands slid in closer together along the wall and then his hand were sliding up her calves, hot from the water, to the back of her knees before sliding down again.

"Come on," he coaxed. "You know," he didn't even seem to be conscious of what he was doing as his hands continued to travel up and down, from the back of her knees to just before her ankle, "most people would stay out if it was too cold. But it's really nice actually. And it's November, freaking freezing outside, warm in here."

He tugged down on her legs gently as his hands paused mid-calf.

_Maybe he did know what he was doing…_

Lily suddenly became aware of how close James' bare chest was to her and tried to think of a way to subtly inch backward. "Lily!" Alice leaned out from behind the taps. "What are you doing? Get in here!"

Lily smiled at her and nodded, "Give me minute."

Alice went back to whatever funny story Frank was telling her, her laughter ringing out in the expansive room.

"You should listen to her," James said. "And I'm not just saying that for my benefit."

"Your benefit?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me James, just how would it benefit you?"

"Well," he said, looking her up and down, "to be honest, you're killing me in that little thing of a swimsuit."

Lily went to cover herself instinctively but James grabbed hold of her hand as she lifted it. She was blushing as she looked at him though. The steam had fogged up his glasses since he'd forgotten to take them off and she shook her head. "What are you talking about? I doubt you can even see me through those." With the hand he wasn't holding Lily reached out and took his glasses off of him, setting them off to the side.

**Is it that how bad my vision is or just the steam? …hell with it who cares?**

James slid a hand from Lily's shoulder down to her other hand, making her shiver a bit. He pulled her closer to the edge. "You're cold. Come on."

Lily gave up and let him pull her into the water. It no longer felt hot on her legs anymore, just warm, but the rest of her body was enveloped by the steaming hot water and she tensed. James squeezed her hands. "Relax," he whispered then pulled her to sit a few feet from the rest of the group. Lily sank into the water and sighed, it was like a sauna above the water but it beneath it it was heavenly.

She slid back in the space next to James, now having a perfect view of everyone else. Alice was talking with Frank, sitting closely against him and giggling, every once in a while turning around to kiss him.

Sirius had pulled out a couple of bottles of firewhiskey—something he must of nicked from either Frank or some other poor, unsuspecting student—and was pouring out some small shot glasses and passing them around. Lily watched as Kristen took one, downed it, and then began to nuzzle Sirius' neck.

_Merlin, I can't see this ending well._

Lily was surprised to see everyone accept a shot from Sirius.

_Alice! Frank! Remus! You are supposed to be the mindful ones here! What is this? And…Isabel? Sophie? You two seemed so good._

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled, louder than necessary at their distance. "Whiskey?"

Sirius was about to try to send one of the bottles over when James shook his head.

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled. "Shot!"

**He's not going to give this up. …fine.**

James slid away from Lily a bit to look at her. "Do you mind?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"I'm just going to take the one shot," James told her. He glided through the water and over to Sirius. He took the shot glass and Sirius filled it until a few drops spilt over. James grinned and tossed it back, throwing the burning liquid down his throat and swallowing hard.

Sirius slapped James back, clearly having had a few shots already. "Go, Prongsie!" He went to fill the shot glass again but James shook his head. He could already feel the liquor going down, warm and quickly giving him a slight buzz.

**That's enough. You're not getting wasted tonight. Not tonight.**

James nudged Sirius thanks and then went back over to Lily. "One shot?" she asked. "That's it?"

He nodded and Lily laughed. "Why? Because it's Remus' turn to get intoxicated?"

"No," he said. "Because I don't want to look like an arse in front of you."

"Really now?" she asked. "Believe it or not, I've tried firewhiskey before. I don't understand why you'd take the taste of one shot to stop there. It's awful."

"I'm just a little buzzed now. Besides, have you seen me drunk?" James questioned.

Lily paused to think.

_He hasn't really drunk a lot this week. Or at all. Barely any on karaoke night I think. And…_

Lily shook her head. "Let's keep it that way," James told her.

Lily smiled, "I'm all for that. It's unfortunate the others aren't."

**Remus maybe. I can't speak for the others.**

James shrugged as a slight wave of water was sent to them as Peter lost his balance and slipped down under the surface for a moment. James shifted with the water, moving over closer to Lily until his gray and black swim trunks were pressed against her bare thigh and his ankle bumped hers.

"It won't be so bad," James told her. He leaned down and lowered his voice. "Remus will get buzzed and loosen up enough to at least flirt with Isabel. Maybe even kiss her. Isabel…" James looked over at her, "she can hold her liquor well enough and knows when to stop."

_How does he know?_

"And Sophie," James continued, "has been holding that same shot glass for over five minutes now. She either hasn't taken a sip or took one. If you watch her carefully, every twenty seconds she pours a drop or two out when she 'accidently' stumbles."

"She's faking being drunk?" Lily asked.

"Tipsy," James corrected. "But, yes."

**Even though everyone knows you don't get tipsy from few **_**sips.**_

He sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Okay, and Frank and Alice are going to leave in about fifteen minutes to go back to Gryffindor tower and have 'alone time.'"

_Okay…I __guess__ I could see that happening._

"And Kristen and Sirius…that won't end well. They're going to be like mush in an hour and then be a mess in the morning. That, that we can brace ourselves for."

Lily nodded. "Alright, Seer, clearly you've been through this all before. What about you and me?"

**Not just me. Not just her. She said 'you **_**and**_** me.'**

"Well," James started. "We are probably going to be the only ones who stay completely sober and we're going to be left to try and get the drunk ones back up without getting caught."

"And before that happens?"

James looked at her and realized how close she really was. Her face was only a few inches from his own and he could just lean over and kiss her easily.

**If it was any other girl…but this is Lily Evans. You can't kiss her yet. **

"Before that," James continued slowly, "you and I are going to sit here and talk."

Lily hummed in agreement even as she looked over at Sirius and Kristen who were already making out off to the side of the group.

_Ew. Lookawaylookawaylookaway._

She turned back to James. "Sounds good to me. What are we going to talk about?"

"First, I'd like to say that you look amazing. School robes don't do you much justice." James looked her up and down again and Lily blushed. "Just to get it out of my system. Then, we'll talk about whatever you'd like."

_Sweet._

She combed her fingers through her hair a couple times before sighing. "Can we talk about your family? I'm sort of curious."

**My family? Well…sure, I guess.**

_Is that weird? I mean…friends know all about each other's families, right?_

"Okay," James said. "What do you want to know?"

"Just about them I suppose," Lily replied.

"My parents are older, I'm an only child. My dad's an auror," he began. "He's not home a lot because of it but every once in a while he'll be home for a few days to a couple of weeks. And then he's back out for a couple of weeks to a month or two."

_Wow. Hectic. _

"My mom is the complete opposite. She's home all the time except during the day when she's visiting friends," James laughed a bit to himself. "And then there's Sirius who moved in the summer before this past one. And, well, you know Sirius. He's pretty much the same at home too, except, you know, better around Mum most of the time."

Lily nodded understandingly.

"Who do you look like?" she asked.

"My dad," James replied. "Same dark hair and hazel eyes, the only thing I have rom my mum are her ears. What about you?" James returned the question and Lily shook her head a bit. "What's your family like?"

"Dysfunctional," Lily told him.

James laughed, "Really. How so?"

"My sister is a lunatic," Lily said. "And more than mean. She…can't accept that I'm a witch so she calls me a freak. And apparently, to her, the only good things in the world are her snotty friends and her walrus of a boyfriend. Vernon," Lily said the name with such distaste that James had to fight back more laughter. She hadn't meant to blurt all that out really. But it happened and it was honest so she toned it down and kept going. "My mum's nice. I mean, she nags a lot and worries too much but she means well. Petunia and her don't get along too well since Petunia thinks Mum likes me better. I don't think that's true."

**It could be. Petunia sounds like a downright-**

"My mum works as a nurse at a hospital and my father is an accountant," Lily continued. "I know, typical, right? But anyway, my mother is very passive-aggressive, she likes to pretend my sister and I get along fine. And this, while my father recognizes it but doesn't talk about it unless it's just me and him," Lily took a deep breath, "and then he just tells me it's all because she's jealous."

"Maybe she is," James told her.

"Maybe," Lily agreed. "But yes, _that's_ how my family is dysfunctional." She paused. "I guess there're always people and situations out there that are worse though, so I shouldn't be complaining."

James watched as the moonlight shone through the stain-glass window pane and flickered across Lily's face as she spoke. Her pale skin appeared to be glowing and James smiled as he stared unbeknownst to Lily.

**Oh she's waiting for you to say something. Say something!**

"Do you plan on going home for the holidays then?" James asked.

"Yup," Lily smiled. "My mum would all but kill me if I didn't. And besides that, Petunia is trying to talk my parents into letting her go to France with the walrus and his family for the hols. So I may possibly have something to look forward to then."

"Does he really look like a walrus?"

Lily looked surprised by the question before her face split into a wide smile. "He does actually. He's got an awful moustache and he's rather fat."

James laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well now I'll have to meet the walrus, or Vermin, or whatever you called him."

_Vermin?_

"Vernon," Lily corrected. She slipped down lower in the water, sighing and then putting her head on James' shoulder.

"Lily," Alice was suddenly standing in front of her. Lily turned her head, still resting on James' shoulder, to look up at Alice.

"Yeah?"

"Frank and I are going to go back, okay?"

_He was right._

Lily smiled and could practically feel James smirking. "Okay," Lily said to Alice. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow," Alice repeated. And then she and Frank left the water, gathered their stuff and all but ran out the door, Alice giggling the entire way.

"You were right," Lily said once they had gone.

"Not quite," James told her. "I said fifteen, I think it was about twenty-five minutes."

"That's still pretty good," she commented.

James chuckled, "I have my moments."

"Shots!" Sirius called, holding up the bottle of firewhiskey. He had an arm around Kristen as he poured into a shot glass. "Moony?" he offered, slurring noticeably. Remus shook his head already moving around as if he was a little woozy. Sophie and Isabel declined as well and Kristen wasn't paying attention as she adjusted her red, little, bikini top and then started kissing Sirius' neck.

Sirius seemed to have forgotten James was there, something James was grateful for as he skipped over offering him the firewhiskey again. Finally Peter went over and downed the shot with a weepy look. Apparently he was some sort of sad drunk.

All of this happened twice before Sirius put the firewhiskey away and everything quieted down again.

_Loud, loud, loud and then silence. Sirius really is something._

Lily closed her eyes and inhaled. The entire place still smelled like soap and, she was guessing, Kristen's strong, flowery, perfume but now with her head on James shoulder she took in his scent of cinnamon and something else (a hint of cologne?). It smelled familiar to her from someone or something else as well but she couldn't place it.

**Her hair smells like strawberries, just like it tasted to kiss her. Merlin.**

_Where have I…? It was definitely here at Hogwarts and…Ohmymerlin. Yeah, but that doesn't really mean anything it's just…_

_Maybe it doesn't mean anything. But you still do._

_But I can't. I'm not supposed to._

_But you do. And why not? _

_Merlin, James. I do like him._

Lily sat up a bit more and then turned. She kissed his cheek and just as she was moving away, turning red from her impulsive action, James turned and slid his hand from her cheek to her neck and kissed her in one fluid motion.

**Don't leave.**

Lily gasped in shock and James deepened the kiss until she responded. His hand slid farther down until it was at her hip and his other hand went to her waist, running over her flat, bare, tummy. His lips moved on hers, soft and warm, as she put her hands on the back of his neck to play with his hair.

_Merlin._

James pulled back a moment later.

**I'm- Merlin, no. I'm not sorry about that.**

He let out a long, slow, breath, his cheeks puffing out a bit. Lily smiled, flushed and happy. She looked over at Sirius, Peter, Remus, Kristen, Sophie and Isabel.

_Thank Merlin none of them were watching._

Sirius and Kristen were…busy. Peter was almost passed out and, at some point during the last ten minutes, Isabel and Sophie had excused themselves and gone back to their common rooms. Remus was talking, even though Peter couldn't look any more out of it and Lily sighed in relief.

"Hey," Lily said, "do you-"

"Shit," James swore, stopping Lily from finishing her sentence.

"What?" she asked worriedly.

"Shhh," James gestured for her to wait a minute and she fell silent. From outside of the door James could hear a smaller voice calling for whoever was in the prefects' bathroom to please exit.

"I'm a professor and you have one minute to either exit or I will enter!"

"That's Professor Flitwick," Lily whispered.

"Crap," James cursed, some more colourful words under his breath before he stood and got out, gesturing for Lily to follow him. "Help me get them into the stalls?" James asked.

"Sure," Lily answered warily.

She went over to the edge where Peter and Remus were. She tapped Remus and motioned for him to stay quiet. Remus was a little bit wobbly as he followed her instructions to get into one of the stalls in the bathroom.

James managed to get Sirius away from Kristen for a moment but the first thing Sirius wanted to do once his lips weren't occupied was be loud. James clamped a hand over Sirius' mouth and pulled him up and helped him out of the tub. He waved Lily over for help getting Sirius to the stalls and Lily complied, leaving Peter for the time being.

"Okay, you have three minutes then!" Flitwick called, still trying to sound firm but not quite wanting to come inside after not getting an answer.

_Thank Merlin. Jeez Black, you're heavy._

Lily supported Sirius' left side as James took his right and together they quietly got Sirius over to Remus and into another stall. Only for Kristen to scream, "Get your hands off him Evans, he's mine!"

James went back and picked Peter up and stuck him in a stall as well, Peter going without protest. Then finally James picked Kristen up and put her in with Sirius, keeping the two of them quiet. Lily dried herself and James magically and then handed him his robe, grabbing hers as well.

Even if they looked like they just happened to be passing through, the tub was still filled with now luke warm water that still had bubbles on the surface. A dead giveaway.

Lily set the water to drain, even though it was useless, as she shrugged on her robe and headed towards the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Hide. I'll handle Flitwick."

"You'll get detention," she whispered. "I'll go with you. It's not fair that you should have to take the blame for it all."

"Neither should you. But he can't see Sirius or the rest of them. They're drunk; they'd get worse than a detention," James said.

Lily shook her head as Flitwick called, "I'm coming in!" And then he was through the door and his eyes landed on James and Lily.

James pulled Lily forward and away from the stalls, trying to keep Flitwick from seeing anyone else. "Good evening Professor," James greeted.

"Potter, Evans," Flitwick eyed the two of them suspiciously. "What are you doing in here? One of the sixth years told me something was going on and Black, Pettigrew and Lupin were in here as well…"

_Sophie ratted them out? Us out?_

"It's just us Professor," James told him.

Suddenly an awful retching noise sounded from behind James and Lily.

**Pete.**

_Peter. Of course._

Flitwick looked around, "Was that-"

"The drain," Lily cut in quickly. "Actually, that's why we were in here. A prefect told us there was a problem with the drain and we came to check it ourselves before going to Filch."

"I see," Flitwick nodded.

_Really? Okay. Great._

The head of Ravenclaw's gaze swept the room as he was about to turn and head for the door when he stopped. "Firewhiskey, Mister Potter?"

Lily and James both turned to see the bottle, still three-quarters full, lying on the floor near the taps where Sirius left it.

"We weren't drinking that," James began but the professor cut him off.

"I'm sorry Mister Potter, Miss Evans. A student has already clearly told me their side of the story and unless you have proof of that being wrong I'm afraid I can't let this slide," Flitwick said.

"We weren't drinking Professor," Lily said.

Flitwick looked at James scrutinizing him for some sort of evidence that he had consumed alcohol. But James looked perfectly fine, clear eyes, perfect balance, and precise speech.

The professor sighed, "I don't want to go to the headmaster about this."

"But we weren't-" Lily tried again but the professor continued on.

"So you two will just show up for a detention tomorrow after breakfast in my room. And neither the headmaster nor your Head of House will have to hear about any of this."

Lily nodded and so did James.

**She's taking this remarkably well. Her second detention.**

"I have a Quidditch practice after breakfast," James remembered.

Flitwick considered this. "After Quidditch practice then," he agreed flexibly.

"Thank you Professor," Lily said.

Flitwick summoned and confiscated the firewhiskey before going to the door. "Not again," he warned them. "And don't forget to tell Filch about that drain."

Lily and James both nodded and then sighed as the door shut behind him.

"That…could have been worse," Lily decided.

* * *

A/N: So there's chapter 25! And thank you so much for all of last chapters reviews! I'm really hoping to get to 800 reviews with this and if I actually do that'd be amazing! And I'm trying to decide about another James/Lily fic so if you would please please please review I would also be open to you suggestions or opinions on that.

Also I'm sorry this took so long. But if it's any sort of excuse it's about 2000 words longer than usual.

Question: What is one thing I can't stand?

R&R**!**

Anyways,

Scarlett


	26. Morning 7 and a SemiEnd

"You guys can come out now," Lily called.

The stall doors opened and out stepped Remus, Peter, Kristen, and Sirius. James pulled the Marauders Map from his robe. "Coast is clear. We should probably leave soon though before anyone else comes knocking."

**Flitwick has terrible timing. The one time I kiss Lily and she's not angry, and it was all willingly, it's cut short by the Charms professor. **

"Sorry," Peter apologized, looking slightly green.

James shook his head in annoyance, "Just don't get sick in the corridor, alright?"

Peter nodded meekly. "I won't."

"Good," Lily sighed. "Dress yourself and let's go then."

Peter covered his mouth and wiped off the remains of his retching. He put his robe on top of his dripping swim trunks.

Remus went to put his robes on as well and with Kristen wrapping herself in a towel, Sirius was the only one still standing in only his swimsuit.

"And you," Lily said, looking at Sirius. "I don't even know where you _got_ the firewhiskey but why, oh why, dear Merlin did you feel it necessary to bring it, drink half of it, and then leave it in plain sight!"

_You idiot._

James rolled his eyes, "Put your robes on. We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower."

Sirius grabbed his robes as was about to walk out the door when James pulled him back. "Mate, you've got to the robes on or we'll get caught."

"I look good," Sirius protested.

"Sirius," Lily took a deep breath, shaking her head, "put your robe on."

"I don't want to wear it!" Sirius threw down the robe in rage. Lily picked it up and held it open for him. She lifted his left arm, gently bent it as Sirius continued to refuse to cooperate, and the put it through one sleeve. She repeated this with his right arm.

_Merlin, I feel like I'm five again and trying to dress a doll!_

"It's itchy!" Sirius tossed the robe back on the ground and stormed over to the door again. Peter stumbled over to the stalls clumsily and vomited once again.

James went over to Peter and Lily followed after him. "Pete, you alright?" James asked.

Peter shook his head whilst handing onto the toilet bowl like a life preserver.

James tried pulled out his wand and cleaned out what hadn't made it into the toilet. Peter flushed though the pungent smell still lingered. James backed away from the stall a bit and looked at Lily.

"Oh no," she said. "I am _not_ dealing with him and the vomiting again."

He gave her a pleading look.

"No!" she exclaimed. "I refuse to clean up this mess again. You do it. Your turn." James looked at Peter and grimaced. "No," Lily repeated. "I won't."

**But I can't…**

"Fine," James relented. "Then you can handle Sirius."

"Fine," Lily agreed. She went back over to Sirius. He was standing with Kristen who was clinging to his arm, draping herself on him like an accessory.

Lily picked Sirius' robe up once again and held it up. She looked at Kristen. "Would you mind helping me get him into-"

Kristen turned to Lily with a glare. "Get away!" she screeched. "He's mine!"

_Drunk and defensive. Great._

As if to prove her point Kristen grabbed Sirius' face and kissed him roughly, jumping up and wrapping her long legs around his torso.

_Oh Merlin._

"Yeah, but," Lily said loudly, trying to get their attention, "we need to get out of here and he needs to put on his robe! Kristen Winstead! If you would please just-"

Neither of them was listening to her so she went to her last resort. Pulling out her wand, she flicked it at the two of them and they were immediately shot apart a couple of feet.

Kristen, having not had her feet on the ground, fell backwards and then shot a murderous look at Lily calling her a few colourful names.

_It's your own fault, really._

Lily rolled her eyes at the insults.

"I'm _so_ out of here," Kristen declared snottily.

_Good riddance._

She stormed over to the door, "Come on Sirius!" she barked.

_Not happening._

"He's not going anywhere with you," Lily said firmly. She felt him move slightly behind her. "Stay where you Black!" she ordered and surprisingly enough, Sirius froze.

Kristen stared at Lily challengingly.

"I thought you were leaving," Lily pointed out. "Get out." And Kristen stumbled out the door.

_I must be on some sort of a streak. This is good. Let's try again._

"Now Black you put on that robe and you _stay_ in that robe until you get back to your dormitory, understood?"

Sirius looked angry still, but her followed her orders and put on his robe.

"Thank you," she sighed. "Peter, are you okay to go now?"

"He's… fine," James answered slowly. He kept a hand out to steady Peter as he walked towards them. "Let's go."

They managed to get back to Gryffindor Tower unnoticed—James immensely grateful he had brought the map—and then up to the boys dormitory relatively quietly.

"I still can't believe Sophie ratted us out," Lily said angrily as she lay back on James' bed, waiting for the boys to finish changing. "She seemed…nice. Good."

"After what Pete said to her? I can believe it," Remus said.

_After what Pete said to her? What?_

Lily sat up in time to see James just in his pyjama pants. She caught herself staring a bit at his naked upper half, the muscles of his abdomen and arms moving as he reached for his shirt, and she quickly looked down. But James had already caught her staring and he smirked. She blushed as he walked over to where she was and lay down on top of his comforter, folding his hands behind his head.

_Oh Merlin._

Lily cleared her throat with a small cough, "What did Peter say to Sophie?"

"I believe," Remus said, looking over at, the already fast asleep, Peter and Sirius, "that he…_insinuated _something about Sophie dressing more… _provocatively_."

"She wasn't dressed provocatively," Lily contradicted. "She was only wearing a tankini."

**A what?**

Remus gave Lily a confused look before shaking his head. "He meant that she _should_ dress…less conservatively. She was insulted and offended, stormed out of there and then Isabel followed her out to make sure she was okay."

Lily nodded, "So it was because Peter offended her."

"Yep," Remus rubbed his eyes tiredly. He got comfortable in his bed and pulled out his book, ready to read.

Lily swung her legs over the side of James' bed and asked softly, "Is the day over? Can I go?"

**I still need to talk to her.**

James looked over at Remus then back at Lily. "Yeah." She stood and he got up as well following her to the door.

Lily turned around and ran into him. She gave him an odd look.

_You're following me because…?_

James looked over at Remus whose only response was to raise an eyebrow and hold back a chuckle. "I'm going down to the common room," James explained.

She looked at him questioningly but continued out anyway. When they reached the bottom of the staircase and Lily was about to head across to the girls' staircase James spoke up again. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

_Oh Merlin. …no. Lily, you can't tell a person they're not allowed to talk to you unless you have good reason though! Like if they killed your puppy or something! Not because you let them kiss you and you don't want to explain yourself! But…_

"I'm…kind of tired actually," Lily said slowly. "I was going to go straight to bed…"

_I don't want to talk about anything…_

**You're not getting away that easy.**

"I'll walk you to your dormitory then. This will only take a minute," James said, already decided. She had no choice.

Lily nodded slightly and made her way over and up the staircase, James following behind her after performing whatever method he had to keep the staircase a staircase and not a slide. "Well?" he asked once they reached the top and were headed for her dormitory.

"Well?" Lily repeated. "You're the one who wanted to talk."

Lily stepped inside her dormitory and, without hesitating, James followed her in. It was dark and the girls were already asleep knowing they'd get up earlier than usual in excitement for Hogsmeade. It was nearing eleven thirty and Lily was feeling exhausted.

As she walked across the room to her bed her shadow moved with her and as she passed the window the moonlight flickered across her face. Not so different from almost an hour and a half ago when they were talking in the 'pool.'

"You kissed me," James stated.

Lily refused to look at him as she moved around her bed, putting more distance between them, grabbing her nightgown and shrugging out of her outer robe to be in just her swimsuit again.

James stared at her figure from the back. The noticeable curve of her waist, her long and shapely legs. And then he was looking at her hair. The deep red contrasting greatly against her pale skin, the way the fell to her waist in loose curls that you could just run your fingers through forever.

"You kissed me," Lily corrected.

"No, you-"

"I kissed you on the cheek," Lily interrupted. Even though she whispered, trying not to wake the other girls, so it wasn't like she drowned him out, it shut him up. "You kissed me."

In the silence that followed her statement, Lily slipped her nightgown over her head.

_I need to get out of my swimsuit. The clasp at the back. Merlin why are bikinis so complicated?_

Lily went over to James and turned so her back was facing him. "Can you undo the clasps?" she asked quietly.

James nodded and swallowed. Lily held the front of the bathing suit to her chest so it wouldn't fall as he undid it and pulled her hair to the side.

His fingers worked over the clasp until he got the plastic hook out of the small loop of material. Lily's skin tingled where his fingers brushed and she closed her eyes.

"There's a knot at the back too. Do you mind…?"

James nodded and Lily lifted her nightgown and gathered it under her bust, still holding the front to her chest. He worked through the knot Alice had tied for Lily painstakingly, his fingers slowly pulling at the fabric.

_Merlin Lily, calm down. He saw you in this exact thing less than an hour ago. You weren't embarrassed then, were you? …but at the same time, then he wasn't…technically…taking it off of you._

"You kissed me back," James whispered into her ear as he finished with the knot.

Lily let her nightgown fall back down to end above her knees as she set her bikini top on her trunk. Lily got out a pair of underwear, one of her prettier ones, white with lavender flowers printed on it. She balled it in her fist so James could see as she walked around her bed.

"Turn around," she told him. He respected this and did as he was told. Lily knelt down on the opposite side of the bed, just in case. "Don't you dare turn," Lily whispered. She changed from her swimsuit bottom into her underwear and then added the swimsuit to her laundry. "Done," she said.

James turned around as she crawled into bed. James stood over her. "You don't kiss someone like that without some meaning behind it."

"I'm sure you have." She went to roll over, turn away from him but he put a hand on her shoulder and sat himself on the edge of her bed.

"No," he said. "Not like that. And you wouldn't _just_ kiss someone like that. It means more to you," he insisted.

_It made me happy. I can admit that to myself. _

"You said you definitely like me as a friend," James told her. "Lily," he waited until she looked right at him, "do you think you like me as more?"

_You know you like him as more than that._

"Yes,"' she replied softly, barely audibly.

**Yes. Than what is this?**

"What happens tomorrow?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, "It ends."

"How?"

"You'll have to wait and see," Lily whispered. She closed her eyes. "I'm going to sleep."

**Well at least one of us will be able to sleep tonight then. You're something real Lily.**

He kissed her forehead. "Goodnight."

* * *

"Good morning Lily."

_No. I'm not getting up. _

"Lily, you have to get up."

_Shut up. You liar._

"Lily…Lily, wake up," Alice coaxed as she gently shook her sleeping friend's shoulder.

Lily shook her head and groaned as she rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning, Lils," Alice laughed. "As far as I know the boys aren't up yet. Probably hung-over?"

Lily nodded and opened her eyes, adjusting to the light.

"Well you should hurry and get ready then," Alice continued. "I'm going back to sleep. It's early."

_Not fair._

Alice crawled back into bed while Lily rolled out of her own.

_Six a.m. Lovely._

Lily stood and blinked a few times, getting used to the light. She brushed her hair back from her face and grabbed her towel and went into the bathroom to shower.

As the hot water ran over her body she sighed.

_There you go Lily. Now you're up. _

As the sudsy water ran down the drain, Lily wrapped her fluffy red towel around herself and stepped out. She dried her hair magically and got dressed in blue jeans and a cream trapeze top and throwing a short, turquoise cardigan on top.

After running a brush through her hair and putting on a little makeup, she pulled on her brown, mid-calf, wedge boots and tucked her wand in one of them. She glanced in the mirror one last time before grabbing her bag and going down to the common room and up the boys' staircase.

"Oh good, you're up," James said as soon as she entered. He was getting going through his trunk for a sweater or something and just caught a glimpse of her. "I was just about to go wake you. Since you're here though, mind waking them up?"

"Good morning to you too," Lily said facetiously.

James ran a hand through his hair as he turned. "Well-hey, you look great."

Lily looked down at what she was wearing, "Thanks. Sorry, so wake them up?" she asked.

"Yeah," James answered distractedly.

He watched as she turned around.

**Merlin she looks good in those jeans. **

He shook his head and went back to his trunk, he couldn't go out in just his white t-shirt; it was the middle of November. He gave up on trying to find his sweater and instead pulled out a navy blue button down and left unbuttoned over his t-shirt and dark jeans.

**Good enough. **

Lily went over to Peter and gently shook him awake. "Come on Peter, time to get up…Peter, wake up."

He stirred and waved a hand, "I'm up. I'm up."

_On to the next one. _

"Sirius," she said quietly, "you have to get up..." He shook his head. "Come on Black," she told him as she shook his shoulder a bit, "breakfast will start soon and you have to get ready."

Sirius kept his eyes shut as he groaned and put a hand to his head, "Someone get me a sobering draught."

"We're all out!" James called loudly from the other side of the room, grinning. "You used it all!"

Sirius winced, "Shut up."

James laughed at Sirius' pain and then went over to Peter. "Now that you're up," he said, "this is for you." Then he promptly smacked Peter's head.

Peter groaned and put his head between his hands. "What the hell?"

"You got us busted last night," James said flatly. "You moron."

Lily shook her head at the boys. "Where's Remus?"

"He went down to the library," James explained. "Some sort of Arithmancy book he wanted to get for an assignment this weekend."

"Oh, okay."

She went over to the water pitcher and poured two glasses, she handed one to Sirius and one to Peter. "Drink up," she instructed.

"Thanks," Sirius said. He downed the water. "You know, Prongs would never be nice enough to try and help us. He just yells." Sirius shot James a look and James shrugged and grinned.

"You guys better get up," Lily told them. Sirius and Peter nodded begrudgingly and got out of bed.

"We'll meet you guys in the common room," James said and then looked at Lily, nodding towards the door.

Lily followed him out and down t to the common room, the two of them collapsing on a couch. "It's been a week," Lily said, mostly to herself than to him but nonetheless he was paying attention.

"Yes it has," James agreed.

"It feels as if it's been…a month or something," she observed. "It's odd. I bet with any other four people it'd literally only be seven days." She paused. "With you guys it's like a shorter lifetime. So much packed into it, you don't have a choice; it's live it out or die trying not to."

James laughed, "Ah, it's not like that. It's…a certain lifestyle I suppose. And you picked up well."

Lily smiled. "Well thank you. You want to know something?"

"What's that?" James asked.

Lily sent him a sideways glance. "I'm sort of glad I got the detention." She corrected herself, "We got the detention."

**She's glad.**

"You're glad?" he asked, perplexedly.

"Yeah, it's all part of the lifestyle," she said. "I'm not even sorry."

"Nice," James grinned lopsidedly. He checked his watch, "Breakfast has started." Just as he finished saying this, about a dozen kids came rushing down each staircase and went running out the portrait hole.

"Probably third years," Lily laughed. "Merlin, I remember how exciting it was to go to Hogsmeade that year."

"Me too," he agreed. "I mean, I hadn't really seen it in the daylight yet."

_Of course he had already snuck out to Hogsmeade at night._

"So I guess we'll be going to Hogsmeade by ourselves after detention then," James said. "I mean, by the time we're done the carriages will be gone-"

"Actually," Lily interrupted, "I don't think I'm going to Hogsmeade."

"What?" James asked. "You can't skip the Hogsmeade trip! You planned it!"

"I know, but…" Lily trailed off.

James shook his head at her, "You can't _not_ go."

"Yeah, but I don't have anyone to _go_ with," Lily shrugged. "Alice is going Frank and I don't want to be a third wheel. Besides, I have some homework that it wouldn't hurt to catch up on. I figure I'll just stay back and-"

"Nonsense," James said. "You can come with us."

"I…"

"Unless of course you're already that sick of us," he considered jokingly.

Lily shook her head, "Not at all. Or… maybe a little." She grinned widely and James glared mockingly.

"Well aren't you sweet?"

"I can be," she quipped, "when I like."

"I'd-"

"Breakfast!" Sirius exclaimed as he came down the staircase. "I'm hungry let's go!"

Peter dragged himself down the stairs behind Sirius, looking groggy and tired.

As Sirius passed by the couch and Lily and James were getting up, he smacked the back of James head.

"Ow?" James touched the back of his head.

"That hurt?" Sirius asked. James shot him a look and Sirius smirked. "Next time you'll shut up and be quiet."

**No I won't. **

_No he won't._

* * *

Breakfast was quiet. As if everybody was waiting for something. It was just after Remus had joined them when Kirsten Winstead stormed over to them to yell furiously at Sirius.

"Sirius Black you frigging prat!" she screamed.

Sirius rolled his eyes before turning to face her. "I'm sorry?"

"You're such an ass!" she shrilled.

Sirius shrugged, "I am what I am."

**Oh Merlin.**

Kristen's eyes narrowed, "You disgusting womanizer. You're a downright-"

"Oh give it a rest," Lily muttered.

Kristen turned on her. "You have something to say?"

_Oh Merlin._

Lily's eyes widened.

_You're a Marauder. You think one of them would back down?_

"I said, give it a rest," Lily repeated.

"Excuse me?" Kristen demanded. "Who do you think you are you little-"

"Me?" Lily asked, standing up.

_I have enough to deal with at the moment, thank you very much. I don't need you too._

"You're a hypocrite," Lily said, annoyed. They were definitely turning a few heads now.

"A what?"

"A _hypocrite_," Lily repeated. "You're calling him a womanizer because he hooked up with _you_. You're the one who showed up! You're the one who was all over him! What exactly does that make you? A harlot? You're just angry because he turned you down. You feel rejected and upset because he wouldn't go with _you_," Lily shot. "I'm sorry darling," Lily smirked, "but that is nobody's problem but yours." She sat down. "So why don't you save yourself the embarrassment and go sit down quietly," Lily suggested, as if she was just suggesting that Kristen wear her black shoes instead of her brown.

Kristen's mouth dropped open and she snatched a goblet of pumpkin juice off the table and went to douse Lily with it.

James, with quick reflexes, hit the bottom of the goblet before Kristen could do anything with it, and the sticky liquid was thrown all over Kristen and not the intended Lily.

Kristen dropped the goblet and took a deep, shaky, breath. She glared at Sirius and then stormed straight out of the hall.

_Merlin. _

**Oh my Merlin Lils.**

The four boys looked at her in shock.

Lily pushed some stray strands of hair back out of her face and sighed, returning to her breakfast. When she noticed the students around her weren't moving she looked up. "Oh, um, thanks James," she smiled a little at him but he just continued to gape at her. "What?" she asked, her fork poised over her eggs.

They stared at her along with a few other students around them.

"What?" she demanded. "Oh, like she wasn't getting on your nerves!"

"She's… feisty that one," Sirius' eyes were wide as he turned to James.

"No kidding," James agreed.

A sixth year Gryffindor a few seats over and across from James looked over at Lily. "That was hot."

**Get your perverted gaze off of her.**

James flung a spoon in the boy's direction, hitting the side of his neck. "Ow!" he cried.

Lily looked at the boy and then at James who shrugged innocently, "It slipped."

"Who are you? Kristen?" Remus asked.

Sirius shuddered.

"That was incredible, Lils," James complimented.

"You don't take shit from anybody," Sirius added.

Remus smiled, "That was brilliant. No one's ever going to mess with you now."

_Thanks._

A little while later the third and fourth years were rushing out of the Great Hall to get to the Entrance Hall and the carriages that would take them off to Hogsmeade.

Apparently James was going to hold his Quidditch practice anyway, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh years that made up his team were just going to have to deal with missing an hour of their weekend trip. The team didn't mind so much, as long as the practice stayed to being just an hour and no longer.

Remus and Peter left for Hogsmeade as soon as breakfast was over and then Sirius and James said they were heading to the pitch.

"Wait," Alice said before they left. "Does this mean you won?" Alice asked Lily.

After Kristen came through Lily hadn't even thought about the bet. She looked at James and Sirius.

"She didn't-" Sirius started but was cut off by James.

"Yeah, congrats Lils," James interrupted. "You won."

"I what?" Lily asked.

"You win," James answered simply. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"We're going to the pitch. See you later."

Lily watched as Sirius and James left the Great Hall. Sirius was waving his arms emphatically at James as they walked out but James clearly wasn't paying attention.

"Congratulations," Alice said from beside Lily.

Lily jumped. "Oh. Yeah."

"So…Frank's waiting for me by the carriages. I better go. You're heading to the library then?" Alice asked.

_That's it. That's it, I win?_

"Um…" Lily was still staring at the Great Hall doors expectantly, "no, I think I'm going to go to the pitch."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so first of all can I just say I love you all! 800 reviews! You're all so great and I siriusly can't belive this. I mean, I would freak out at 100 before but now...wow.

Second of all I'd like to say that with all these wonderful reviews I like replying to them and so for those of you who don't sign in I'd appreciate it if you did. But either way I love the reviews so thank you.

To Paula: Thank you so much. That was so sweet of you and I can't even begin to express how happy it made me. This chapter comes in a rush for readers like you.

To Chelsey Hirsch: Why thank you. I'm not quite sure what you meant there exactly but I'm taking it all as a compliment.

I'm sorry this chapter isn't as long as the last, like you all wanted. Sorry. But I wanted to post tonight because I was so happy about hitting 800. So I would really appreciate if you would all be lovelies and review again. Please and thank you!

Question: What is one type of shirt I refuse to wear?

Anyways,

Scarlett


	27. A Date Almost

_I won? That's not possible. _

* * *

"What was that?" Sirius demanded, waving his arms wildly at James and the doors to the Great Hall.

"She can win," James answered.

"But she _didn't win_, Prongs," Sirius stressed, as if it was James' hearing that was the problem, not his logic.

**But she didn't mean to lose either.**

"I don't care. I don't want to win," James said.

"Do you hear yourself?" Sirius asked. "You don't _want_ to win? Then what was the bloody point of all of this?"

**Damn it Padfoot!**

"I don't want to win _her_," James snapped in frustration. "If she's ever going to be my girlfriend it's not going to be because she has to!"

Sirius ran a hand over his face tiredly. "So that thing where she told Prewett yesterday…she didn't lose?"

**Merlin Pads.**

"Yes she lost," James said. "But, no, I'm not telling her."

"You're not telling her she lost," Sirius repeated flatly as they went outside and headed towards the pitch.

"No," James confirmed, "I'm not."

* * *

Lily walked outside and wrapped her arms around her torso in the cold autumn wind. The boys had had their Quidditch robes with them, but Lily hadn't planned on going outside until later, if at all. All she had on was her cardigan that wouldn't even button so she had to pull it to wrap around her.

She approached the pitch and could already see the team flying around above. She skipped the spectator towers and instead walked right onto the pitch to sit on the sidelines where they had tossed the extra equipment.

_Okay Lily, but if something hits you it's your own fault._

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled.

**Padfoot how many times have I told you, we can't a have a conversation in the middle of practice. The other team members matter too.**

"Get back in the play!" James barked. "You're supposed to throw to Kowalski!"

Sirius veered left and made a one-eighty, heading straight to James.

"What the hell are you doing?" James shouted.

"I just thought you might like to know," Sirius smirked, "that we have an audience."

"What?"

Sirius nodded to the left on the ground.

**Lily?**

"Oh," James looked at Lily and then back up at the team. "Run the new play!" he called. The team nodded and James caught the quaffle coming his way and tossed it back into the play. He dove down to the ground to land a few feet from Lily.

She waved awkwardly as James got off his broom and walked over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," she looked around, "um, I just figured I'd wait until you were done practice and then we could go to detention together. Sirius is going straight to Hogsmeade after this, right?"

"Yeah," James nodded. He looked at how she was sitting, her cardigan pulled to wrap tightly around her.

**Merlin Lils, you didn't grab a jacket or something on the way out? It's freaking cold out here!**

James shrugged out of his Quidditch robe and handed it to her. "Go on," he urged, "you're cold."

Lily hesitated, about to hand it back to him and tell him it was unnecessary but realized to him it probably wouldn't make a difference.

**Just take it. **

_Alright. But…_

"You need it-" Lily started but James quickly interrupted her.

"Look, I better get back up there. We're working on a new play," he grinned, "see if you recognize it." And then with a wink he had mounted his broom and flown back up, leaving her with his Quidditch robe.

She looked down at it in her hands for a moment before sighing and putting it on. It was warm and worn in, soft in one of those lived-in ways. It smelled like James; cinnamon and teenage boy mixed with the scent of outdoors. She pulled it closer around her body and inhaled it all.

_Just like my amortentia. _

"Okay!" James sat up on his broom a bit to clap his hands loudly and get the group's attention. "The new play: Kowalski, MacDonald you block and guard! Sirius you dive. I'll be waiting by the goals and Travis you'll take the other side. The rest of you are the other team for now. Try and get the quaffle before we score. Got it?"

The team all nodded vigorously and positioned themselves above the middle of the pitch. James tossed up the quaffle and Sirius swooped in a caught it.

_What am I supposed to be recognizing here?_

Sirius swung his broom around in a full circle as the team moved to where James had told them to be. Travis went to the left of the opposing goal posts and James fell into place on the right. Sirius shot towards the ground and the decided 'other team' chased him down, Kowalski and MacDonald getting in their way. By then Sirius was flying across shorter length of the pitch and then flying straight up.

_Oh Merlin. Okay so this may be a __little__ familiar._

Sirius looked at James, then Travis. With the 'other team' rushing to block the space between James and Sirius, figuring he was more likely to throw that way, Sirius chucked the quaffle to Travis who threw to James, who made the goal.

James punched the air in victory while Sirius and whooped loudly. The rest of the team clapped politely, shaking their heads at their captain's antics.

"So you all see how it works?" James asked.

The team nodded. "Alright now let's go over the 'Dodger' play we worked last week." James sighed, "And Fieldings, have you found the practice snitch yet?"

"Not yet!" the scrawny sixth year called from below.

"Prongs, you could find it faster," Sirius muttered. "Hell, _I_ could find it faster."

**Pick up the pace Fieldings.**

"Stay focused," James called down and then turned to the rest of the team. "Alright so the 'Dodger,' you form the zigzag and then cross over as-"

"James?"

"What's up, Karen?" James asked.

"The new play," Karen said, "what's it called?"

**Oh. Right. It wouldn't make sense to just call 'the new play' during a match.**

"Uh," James thought for a moment before looking down at their audience member, "we'll call it the Lily Feint."

Karen and the rest of the team nodded with odd looks. "Alright, next play!" James commanded and the team took off to get into place.

Lily watched from the ground in awe.

_He's using my Quidditch blunder as a play. I mean…yeah it worked but...still._

There was something so calming about watching them fly above that she propped some of the equipment behind her and relaxed. She looked up at them, smiling all the while.

In all honesty, she did like watching Quidditch. Ever since she started at Hogwarts she had enjoyed watching the Quidditch matches. It was exciting and spirited and watching them on their brooms just gliding and soaring and zooming through the air was pure magic.

Lily strived to be a good student and worked hard to get good grades, she had _earned_ her head girl badge. When doing magic in class it was about precision and work and achievement. But during the Quidditch matches it was like watching the magic come to life without effort. She was always rooting for Gryffindor, cheering along with everyone else and clapping at every goal in their favour, but while everyone else was screaming and looking at the scoreboards, trying to see the snitch themselves, Lily was just enjoying it.

When James made the Quidditch team in his fifth year however, she had stopped going to the games. James had even taken his time on the pitch as opportunity to show off and impress her, annoying her beyond belief. And so she stopped going entirely.

Getting to watch them play again, even if it was just a practice, made her question why she had stopped going in the first place. Now it was even better without all the noise from the other spectators around her. It was incredible.

"Okay," the team gathered around their captain, hovering high in the air, "between now and next week's match there's a practice on Wednesday morning _before_ breakfast." The team groaned in unison and James ignored it. "Travis I need you to work on your sharper turns, you nearly knocked Karen off her broom. Fieldings, I know you're new, but you have to get faster with those reflexes."

"Sorry," Travis apologized quickly.

"Don't apologize," Sirius said. "Work on it."

James nodded in agreement. "Take the practice snitch back with you."

"Um…" Fieldings looked uncomfortable, "I don't think that's allowed."

**No shit.**

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Don't tell anybody, bring it back Wednesday morning. Nobody has the pitch between then and now. Nobody will miss it."

Fieldings nodded, "Alright."

"Good. And before we go?" James prompted.

The entire team rolled their eyes amusedly before chorusing, "The Quidditch gods have gifted us. We're amazing players."

James grinned, "And?"

"DON'T WASTE THE GIFT!" they screamed.

Sirius punched a fist in the air, "DON'T WASTE THE GIFT!"

**Good. **

"Great practice. See you Wednesday," James gave them a quick salute and then returned to the ground.

Sirius landed right behind him and they walked over to Lily.

"Ready for detention?" James asked.

Lily nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be." She shrugged out of his Quidditch robe, "Here. Thanks."

"Welcome," he said. Sirius took their brooms and robes, heading to Gryffindor Tower to grab his money for Hogsmeade before he caught the last of the carriages. Lily and James headed in the opposite direction towards their detention.

"So that new Quidditch play," Lily started as they walked towards the charms classroom, "you've decided to mock my lacking Quidditch skills?" She nudged him with a playful smile.

"Quite the opposite," James said. "I forgot to tell you about it. It's just…it works. And it's bloody insane really, so no one will ever expect it."

"My tactic is insane?" Lily asked.

"Well, not insane exactly," James corrected. "It's unpredictable. You get the quaffle…and head straight to the ground. It's brilliant. We're calling it the Lily Feint."

_Lovely._

"Wonderful," she shook her head. "Just don't spread the name until it's won you a match, alright?"

"Will do," James agreed as they went up to the charms classroom.

Flitwick looked up as they came in and beckoned them to the front of the room. "Delightful! You're here!" he clapped as they reached his desk.

"Alright Professor," James said, "what are we doing?"

Flitwick pointed to a large pile of white gloves. "The fifth years are working on colour changing spells. I need you two to charm those gloves whatever colour fits your fancy. And then just put one on each desk and the rest on my own. After that you two are free to leave. I trust I can leave you by yourselves?"

"Certainly Professor," Lily replied.

"Very well. Have a good time in Hogsmeade," he bid them a good day before leaving the room.

"Okay," Lily took a seat and pulled half of the pile towards her, "let's get started."

James sat on the table beside her, Lily's arm brushing his leg. She pulled two of the gloves from the pile and turned them orange while James charmed another pair deep red.

_This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. And you can be purple…and green…and blue…and pink…and yellow…But if the fifth years are working on colour changing spells…why are we the ones changing them colours? Oh well. Don't question it._

**Can I say that white was what 'fit my fancy?'**

_And bright blue…lime green…olive green…brown…turquoise…chartreuse…puce…periwinkle…magenta…indigo…_

**Red…green…emerald green…**

"On a scale of one to ten," Lily said, "how ugly is this colour?" She held up glove coloured yellow-brown.

"Ten," James decided. "On the verge of eleven."

Lily looked at what they had left of their piles. They each had about twenty gloves left to colour and a pile of forty already finished.

_Wow. That's more than I thought we'd gone through. The silence added focus I guess. Merlin this silence is going to be the death of me._

"I'll race you," she challenged.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Come on," she said, "I want to get this stuff done. Whoever finishes first…gets to sit and watch while the other puts the gloves on the desks."

**That's hardly a prize. **

"You're better at charms," he reminded, still working through his pile.

"You're head boy," she countered, "I think you can keep up."

**Whatever.**

"Alright," he sighed although he sort of enjoyed the fact that she was being childish. It was rare.

"And…go!" she called.

They went through the gloves quickly; Lily getting ahead despite the fact James had a slightly smaller pile. She finished just as James was turning his last glove fuchsia.

"I win," she said.

"Told you," James gave her a sideways glance and then hopped off the table, grabbing about thirty gloves from his pile and starting at the back of the room.

Lily hopped up on the table herself, taking his spot and stacking the gloves so it would be easier to carry when he needed them. She watched him as he moved through the back row, putting a single coloured glove in front of each seat.

He ran a hand through his hair as he moved around a desk to get into the second to last row.

_Ask him. Merlin, Lily what the hell are you doing to yourself? What are you doing to him?_

James was moving into the next row; only a row of desks separating them now and Lily's stomach was filling with what felt like spastic butterflies. She swallowed nervously as James came into the next row of desks.

By the time he got to where she was sitting he had run out of gloves. Lily held the stack in her lap and he walked over to stand in front of her, waiting expectantly. When she didn't hand him the gloves he stepped up closer to her, tilting his head to the right in question.

"James," she started, she heard her voice shake a bit and she took a deep breath. "I was wondering if…if maybe you'd…I mean-I wanted to ask if…"

**Come on Lily. Please.**

James put a hand on either side of Lily on the table, leaning forward slightly. "Yes?"

_Your being this close is __not__ helping right now._

She looked down at the gloves in her lap and let out a long breath. "I was hoping that maybe…I was going to ask if…"

_Merlin he makes this seem easy._

"Merlin," Lily said, "I-"

James closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. When he pulled away Lily continued, "What I'm trying to ask is-" James leaned in and kissed her again, this time his lips moving against hers in a slow rhythm as he moved closer, pulling her forward with an arm around her waist.

Lily broke the kiss, "I wanted-"

**Merlin woman!**

"Lils," James said slowly, a small, amused smile playing on his lips, "I'm trying to kiss you."

"And I'm trying to ask you out!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" James smirked. "I hadn't noticed."

Lily pushed his chest in annoyance. "You're not making this easy," she huffed.

James took the stack of gloves from her and continued down the row. "I'm merely returning the favour," he said over his shoulder.

"You haven't given me an answer," she pointed out tentatively.

"You haven't asked the question."

"Fine." Lily sighed and waited while he finished the last row of desks, summoned the rest of the gloves, and placed them on Flitwick's desk.

"Well?" James asked, walking back to where she was as she hopped off the desk.

_Hmm._

"I've decided I'm not asking yet," Lily informed him casually. She headed out the door and James followed, quickly catching up with her.

"You're not?" There was a hint of disappointment in his voice and Lily looked up at him.

"Nope," she said. "Not now, anyways. Although, the invitation for me to join you guys in Hogsmeade, is that still open?"

'**Not now?' What's that supposed to mean? **

"Uh, yeah, sure," James told her.

"Well then I'd like to take you up on that," she smiled. "Before we go, do you mind if I just grab my coat?"

James shook his head, "Not at all."

**Well she definitely keeps me on my toes.**

They went up to Gryffindor Tower and Lily grabbed her cream pea coat and small purse before they headed out again to Hogsmeade.

The walk to Hogsmeade was quiet. Lily and James went along in a comfortable silence until they entered the village at which point Lily turned to James. "So, do we know where we're meeting them or…?"

"Actually, they're probably in Zonko's," James said. "But, can we go into Honeydukes first?"

"Sure," Lily agreed. They walked over to the sweetshop and went inside, the smell of chocolate, fudge, and loads of sugar immediately engulfing them.

_Mmm_ _chocolate._

Lily followed James through the shop until he stopped at a rack of the more common candy. There were boxes of chocolate frogs and packages of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, liquorice wands and Drooble's. James picked up five packages of the candy beans and Lily raised an eyebrow.

_He must really like those._

"They're for Sirius," James explained. "His birthday is coming up and while I've already got his present, he loves these things."

Lily nodded, "I see. What did you get him?"

"Well…sort of made. Two-way mirrors. I bought the mirrors and then used a slightly tweaked Protean charm to connect them," he said.

"Wow," Lily smiled, "Impressive."

"Thanks. It took me a while," he shrugged, "but they'll be good for detentions and stuff."

_Of course._

James got some chocolate swirl fudge on his way to the counter for Remus.

**Remus. He loves this stuff but says it's too expensive to buy all the time. Oh well. I'll tell him it was on sale or something. Or I bought it for myself and already ate some.**

Lily picked up some chocolate and a liquorice wand. When they got to the counter Lily went first, putting her chocolate and candy down so the lady could give her the total. However, James put his sweets on the counter as well. "I got it," he told her.

_What?_

"James, no," Lily protested. "I'll pay for it myself."

"It's okay," he insisted.

"James I refuse to let you pay for this. I can handle it myself."

**Come on, Lily. It's just sweets. It's not that big of a deal.**

James gave the woman behind the counter a charming smile and she added James' things to Lily's total, smiling back at him.

"Excuse me," Lily began politely, "but really I'd much rather-"

"Dear, if a gentleman is offering to buy you chocolate," the woman advised, "let him be a gentleman and buy you the chocolate."

"Yes, Lily," James smirked. "Don't refuse, just accept graciously."

_Ugh. Fine._

Lily blushed as the woman handed her her bag and James gave the woman the galleons to cover it. "Thank you," Lily accepted. "But really-"

"Just leave it at the thank you," James interrupted.

Lily rolled her eyes but protested no longer.

As they were approaching Zonko's Lily looked over at James. "I have a confession," she announced.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I, Lily Evans, have never, not once, stepped inside Zonko's," she admitted.

James' mouth dropped open. "You're kidding."

"Nope," she shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid I'm not."

"Well then come on!" James exclaimed, ushering her into the store. It was loud, really loud, inside the store. "Duck!" James called. And then with his hands on Lily's shoulders, he pushed her down a bit as some sort of small explosive shot over their heads.

"Prongs!" Sirius called as he saw his best mate enter the shop. "You broke free!"

James chuckled and nodded.

"They've got this new chocolate," Sirius gushed excitedly, "and you feed it to the victim and they slowly turn into an animal. And it takes a couple hours. But the best part is, you don't even know what animal until you watch them transform. So it's everything! Vengeful, funny, and long lasting entertainment! You have to see it!"

_Oh Sirius._

James and Remus both looked at Lily, gaging her reaction to the entire place.

"You think if you put half of one and half of another they'd turn into two different animals?" Sirius asked Peter.

"I think we should find a victim and try it," Lily answered Sirius. Sirius looked at Lily while she looked at James and Remus. "Well what are we waiting for? Come on!" she shouted above the noise, waving the two boys in the direction Sirius had run off to.

**I absolutely adore you Lily Evans.**

* * *

The boys left Zonko's with arms filled with stuff. As they stepped outside the shop Lily helped them as they shrunk them down to fit inside their pockets.

Once they had tucked away all their purchases they continued down the road.

"Where to next?" Lily asked them curiously as she realized they were passing by Tomes and Scrolls.

**We'll go back to the bookshop after. Don't worry.**

"Spintwitches!" Sirius exclaimed.

_Oh Merlin._

Lily followed them into the sporting shop and looked around in interest.

_This isn't so bad. Much quieter than Zonko's._

"James! Sirius!" the man behind the counter, probably in his forties with dark hair that was slowly graying, greeted them.

"'Morning Elliott," James and Sirius called back in unison.

Sirius went off towards the back of the store, taking Peter and Remus with him, while Lily hovered near the front and James went up to the counter, talking to Elliott.

"Nothing new?" James asked.

"Not really," the man answered. "Not since you four were last in here anyway."

Lily wandered over to the display window, looking at the broomstick stationed there.

"So listen," James said, once Lily was out of earshot, "we wondering if you happen to have a blank trophy or something…"

Lily continued around the store, smiling at the third years that came rushing in with awestruck expressions. She went to the back to find Remus, Sirius and Peter. Remus and Peter were standing around Sirius who was looking at the new Quidditch gear.

About a half hour later James suggested that they go to The Three Broomsticks before it gets any busier. They pulled Sirius out of Spintwitches and then went to the pub.

"Is she here?" Sirius asked as soon as they entered.

Remus hit him over the head, "She's always here you dolt, she owns the place, now shut it."

**And they go right back to being thirteen.**

James shook his head his friends as they found a table at sat down, James pulling up an extra chair to the table for four.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Lily asked, hiding an amused smirk at already knowing the answer.

"Madame Rosemerta," Peter replied, turning scarlet.

"You mean her?" Lily looked over at the young proprietor, who admittedly was quite pretty.

"Yes her," Remus hissed with a smile, knowing that Lily knew what she was doing. "Don't. Look."

"Remus!" Lily grinned. "You like her too?"

_Remus doesn't like anybody!_

"Keep. It. Down," Remus turned red as he lowered his voice, trying to get Lily to take the hint.

"Yeah," Sirius said with a smirk. "Remy likes her too. And Moony never has a crush on anybody."

"Shut up," Remus grumbled.

"You're all delusional," James told them.

**She owns the place for crying out loud. The only reason Remus likes her and doesn't consider any of the girls who like him is because he knows she's unattainable. There's no fear of getting close.**

"You don't know what you're talking about Prongs," Sirius glared. "She's always flirting with me."

"Flirting or telling you to stop hitting on her?" James asked.

Lily looked at how Peter was staring at the young woman. "You all just like to look at her," Lily said, clearly displeased.

"We do-" Sirius started but froze as Rosemerta came over to their table.

"And what can I get you all?"

"Five butterbeers," James requested.

Madame Rosemerta nodded. "That all?"

"And a firewhiskey," Sirius nodded.

"Ogden's, Blishen's or the kind that tastes a whole lot like butterbeer, Mister Under-aged?" she joked.

"Ogd-"

"I'll get you your butterbeers," Rosemerta cut him off as she walked away.

Sirius watched her walk away. "I like the way _she_ walks."

"You are disgusting," Lily laughed. "We should have let Kristen pitch another goblet at your head. Knock some sense into you."

Sirius shrugged, "This is the Sirius. Deal with it or get out," he grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later their butterbeers were in front of them and they were sipping the warm liquid quickly.

Lily could practically feel the liquid travel down to her stomach, warming her from the inside out. She put her cool hands around the mug, absorbing the heat.

"Alright," James said, "we're not actually going to the Shrieking Shack, right?"

They shook their heads and Remus shrugged, "Really it's just The Shack."

"Okay, well, Lily you want to go to Tomes and Scrolls, right?"

Lily nodded.

_Thanks._

"Well then when we're done here we'll go to the bookshop. And then…"

**Oh Merlin, say no.**

"did you want to go shopping at Gladrags?"

**No, no, no, no...**

_Oh Merlin, no._

"That's okay," Lily said slowly, trying not to laugh at the idea.

"Oh thank Merlin," Sirius sighed in relief. "You know Evans, with that one answer you could probably win over every bloke at Hogwarts."

Lily laughed, "I'll be sure to try it some time."

**Don't give her ideas.**

Lily sipped her butterbeer contently, listening as Sirius raved to James about the new broomstick that was coming out soon and how he hoped Spintwitches would get it too. She watched Remus blush when the pub was slowly emptying out after the afternoon rush and Rosemerta came over to chat when them briefly. She smiled as she saw how James was keeping the conversation with them flowing so Rosemerta would stay a while longer, how he talked Remus up even though Remus was constantly shooting him 'cut it out' looks.

Then as Rosemerta excused herself to go greet customers James said they should get going, their mugs empty and the place starting to fill up to its' regular packed atmosphere.

Before any of the boys could reach for their money Lily pulled out her own and dropped enough on the table for the drinks and a tip.

They looked at her.

"It's a thank you," she told them, "for a week I'll never forget with people I now consider friends."

"How sentimental," Sirius smiled. "Thanks, Evans."

"Thanks, Lily," Remus and Peter both said.

James smirked, "Thank you. But really I can pay for-"

Lily hit him the arm.

_Shut up._

He chuckled, "Thanks, Lils."

After spending another half hour at the bookshop Lily said she was going to head back to the castle.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

Lily nodded, "Yeah, but I had great time with you guys. Thank you."

James looked back at Remus, Sirius and Peter.

**They wouldn't mind.**

"I'll go back with you," James said.

"No," Lily protested. "I'll be fine, you stay with-"

"We're just going to Dervish and Banges," Remus interrupted. "Pete wants to get Exploding Snap cards, then we're probably going back to Zonko's. We'll meet you two at dinner."

'_You two at dinner.'_

"See you then," James agreed and then he picked up Lily's hand in his and began the walk to the castle.

_It's just so natural with him. Everything just sort of works._

**So she was going to ask me out earlier. And then she wasn't. But she said 'not now' so she still is, right?**

_I wasn't disappointed when I realized I'd lost. I want to be with him. But Alice has a point; maybe the bet was a last chance with him. If he knows he actually won then why didn't he mention it? He seemed sort of distant in detention until…until he was kissing me. Or trying to anyway. But now he's holding my hand and walking me back to the castle. He paid for what I got at Honeydukes. It sort of was like a date…with Remus and Sirius and Peter._

**I need to let this go. She can decide what she wants.**

_But I still had a fantastic time anyway._

* * *

Lily went up to her dormitory, sighing as she shed her pea coat and crawled onto her bed, pulling out a book.

She couldn't focus as she read though; James kept pushing his way back into her mind. She was getting sort of annoyed by the time she realized she had been on the same damn page for over five minutes now.

She couldn't stand it. Not knowing. Not knowing whether or not James knew he had won. Not knowing how to bring it up. Not knowing how the bloody hell James made it look so easy to ask somebody out. She remembered how many times she had rejected him in the past and realized how she felt now, pretty damn awful and crappy, could only be half the feeling of an actual rejection.

She closed her eyes as she fell back on her bed, slamming her book shut and laying it on her tummy.

_What the hell is wrong with you? Merlin, find an ounce of courage in you and go talk to him then. You're being an idiot._

Lily lay there for a moment longer. Debating with herself before she went over to the mirror, ran a brush through her hair and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

_Alright. Now go for it._

She swallowed down her nervousness and went down to the common room, then straight across to the boys' staircase as she had done countless times the past week. She went up the staircase and continued until she reached their dormitory.

_I can do this. I can do this. I can do this._

She pushed open the door to see James sitting on his bed, his legs stretched out in front of him as he stared out the window. He jumped as he saw her enter and then leapt to his feet.

"What are you-"

"You won the bet," Lily interrupted.

"I know but-"

"I told Alice about the pool party, even though Sirius wasn't going to," she ploughed on, drowning out whatever he was trying to say. "I broke the rules, and-"

James walked over to her. "Lily can I just-"

"Let me finish," she interrupted. "I broke the rules and you won the bet. I'm your girlfriend."

And then he had pinned her against the wall and was snogging her senseless.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I rushed to finish this, even though it might not seem that way since it will take you ten minutes to read and took me...well quite some time to write.

I want to thank you all for the amazing reviews. You won't believe how wide my grin was while reading them. Now, I know this is A LOT to ask, but I was wondering if maybe you'd help me to get 900 reviews. Even if I don't hit 900 that's okay, but please do review if you're reading this. And remember: reviews fuel an 'author's' need to write more. Or at least makes me really happy so I'm in the mood to write.

So please review and thanks for reading!

Anyways,

Scarlett

Question: Chocolate or vanilla?


	28. The Part Where There's No Next Chapter

"Shit, I'm so sorry."

James ran a hand through his hair, pacing in front of her.

Lily felt numb. He had moved away so quickly and all she wanted his hands in hers and his body against hers again. She sunk down to the floor, her back against the wall.

…

**Shit, Prongs. What the hell? You're not thinking. What if that had gone—Merlin.**

James' steps were quickening as he continued to pace the floor and Lily just stared as his feet went back and forth and back and forth.

_Merlin Lily, control yourself._

His pacing stopped abruptly. He closed his eyes before looking down at her. "Say something."

_Something?_

"What's wrong?" Lily asked carefully.

James took a deep breath and let it out. "What you said…"

"Yes?" she prodded warily.

"About being my girlfriend," James continued. "Is that because…" he trailed off, waiting for her to supply the answer.

"I lost the bet," Lily repeated. "I told Alice-"

"I know you lost," James told her.

_You do? So then why didn't you say anything?_

"Now, is losing your reason for coming in here or your excuse?" James pressed.

Lily was either dismissing his question or hadn't heard it as she wasn't paying attention. "If you knew then why did you let me win?" she asked.

"Because I didn't want you to be with me unless you wanted to!" James exclaimed.

**What is so bloody hard for everyone to understand here?**

Lily just stared at him.

James let his head tip back tiredly. When he looked at her again his expression was hard to read. "Did you break the rules on purpose?" he questioned.

She shook her head no.

**Damn it. Then that-**

"I realized I'd lost last night," Lily explained. "But James…I wasn't disappointed."

His eyes met hers again. "You mean-"

_Is losing my reason or excuse?_

"Losing the bet is my excuse," Lily told him, standing up and walking over to him. "Wanting to be with you is my reason."

James' face spread into a wide grin. "You love me, don't you?" He stepped closer and slipped a finger in her belt loop, pulling her close to him as well.

"Don't push it Potter," Lily warned. His hand slid up to her neck, his thumb brushing over her jawline.

**Potter? We've come this far. We are ****not**** going back.**

"James," he corrected. "And go on, I want to hear you say it."

She rolled her eyes slightly, but found it increasingly difficult to be annoyed as his other thumb stroked over the warm skin near above her hip, his two fingers still curled through her belt loops and his thumb slipping just under the hem of her shirt. His fingers were sending tingles through her skin and she let out a short sigh. She placed a hand on his chest and looked down at the ridiculously short distance between them.

Her fingers traced purposeless shapes on his chest as she pushed his open dress shirt out of the way and felt the soft cotton fabric beneath her fingers. She drew small circles absentmindedly, around and around and around.

"Tell me," James whispered.

Lily eyes narrowed a bit as she stared over his right shoulder. "I've fallen for you…_James_. And I _want_ to be with you."

Her hand slid up to the neck of his shirt and her fingers grazed over his collar bone, reaching up to play with his hair. "There was something I meant to ask you earlier…" Lily smiled and looked up at him. "I wanted to know if you'd like to go out with me."

**Merlin, how I've waited to hear that.**

Her hand slid back down as she patterned random swirls across his chest. James watched her hands, her fingers, her eyes, and then landed on her pink, pink lips.

"James," she said. "An answer?"

James snapped back to attention. "Lily…" he swallowed down hard, "if you want a proper answer…you're _going_ to have to stop doing that." He put his hand on hers.

**Merlin, Lils.**

Lily gave him a rather coy look. "Alright," she conceded, letting him lower her hand. "So…?"

"Yes," James answered.

"Great," Lily bit her bottom lip and slid her arms around James' neck.

**Merlin, I love her. And…she's trying to kill me.**

Lily got up on her toes and kissed him softly, sweetly, but as she went to pull away James arms circled around her waist and pulled her right back.

By the time he pulled back, Lily was flushed and James was out of breath. "Screw the date," he panted, "marry me. And we can go on our honeymoon tomorrow."

Lily laughed and stepped away from him, smoothing down her hair and fixing her cardigan. She shook her head. "James," she laughed again. "Careful or you'll scare me away."

**Holy crap. Don't say things like that!**

"If not my wife, how about my fiancée?" She gave him a look. "My girlfriend?"

"That I can handle," Lily agreed. James stepped closer to her again, ready to resume what had been momentarily halted. "Wait," Lily said, stepping back from him. "If we're going to be together I have a few rules."

"And I agree to all them," James told her, not really wanting a long discussion at the moment.

"James," Lily stopped him seriously and he sighed.

"Alright, alright. And these rules are?"

"Well, okay…um, public displays of affection," she started. "They shouldn't last any longer than five seconds." She considered this, "Unless it's hugging or hand-holding."

**Five seconds. That's fine.**

"Fine by me," James agreed.

"Really?" she blurted out.

James chuckled, "You sound surprised."

"Well…yes," she said bluntly. "I mean, everyone's seen you in the halls with girls and-"

"The show wasn't for everyone," he interrupted.

_What?_

He looked sheepish, "It was sort of…well you were supposed to see. I was trying to make you jealous. I guess that was pointless."

She twirled a lock of hair on her finger, "Mostly. Anyway, that's another thing: jealousy. Neither of us act on it, please. Talking is fine, irrational behaviour is not."

**That'll be more difficult. **

"Okay," James nodded slowly. "I can definitely try."

"Well it goes for both of us," she said.

**Lily, jealous? I'd sort of like to see that.**

"And fighting," Lily stated. "It's inevitable it will happen and that whole 'don't go to bed angry' thing? Bullshit when it's me."

**I don't want to think about us fighting.**

"If, or actually when, we fight and I want to go to sleep, trust me, it's for to the benefit of both of us. I'll probably be nicer in the morning," she smiled at the thought of her own flaw; something that made James smile in return.

"Duly noted," he told her.

"Alright. And…last one: if we're together than there's nobody else," she rushed.

**Nobody else? Like another girl? How could she even consider that I'd want to **_**be**_** with anybody else?**

James shook his head at her. "Lily, it's you. You and nobody else. Not ever. No chance in hell would I ever do something like that to you."

She looked up at him, "Good. Is there anything you need to add?"

He laughed lightly, "I'd say you need to accept my friends as well as me. But given the past week I'd say that's all cleared up. In which case we're all good?"

Lily smiled, "We're all good."

_I'm dating James Potter. James Potter is my boyfriend._

**This is my girlfriend, Lily Evans. Perfect. **

_James Potter. Who would've guessed?_

**Come back here Lils. We have over three years of **_**snogging**_** to catch up on.**

* * *

"James," Lily said, "it's nearly dinner." She gently extracted herself from his embrace and looked at James.

He had shrugged off his button-down and was now in his jeans and t-shirt. A t-shirt Lily saw fit him _very_ well.

_Wow James._

"And?" James asked.

"The rest of them will be back soon," Lily reminded. "Come on, we'll meet them in the Great Hall. I'm just going to go freshen up."

James nodded and watched as she left the room. He sighed, long and dazed, as he fell back his bed. Grinning like a fool.

**Over six years. Merlin it was all **_**more **_**than worth it.**

* * *

Lily went into the bathroom and looked in mirror. She touched her pink lips, slightly numb and almost swollen from all the kissing. Her hair was messy from James tangling and running his fingers through it so many times. Her sweater was slightly crinkled and as she stared at her reflection she could see a red mark appearing where her shoulder met her neck.

_Well that's going to be a little hard to hide. _

Lily grabbed some concealer and dusted it over the mark. She brushed her hair out and put on some strawberry chap stick before taking a deep breath.

"Lily?" Alice called.

_Alice!_

Lily stepped out of the washroom to see Alice kicking off her shoes and slipping out of her jacket. "Hey, Alice," she chirped, sitting on the edge of her bed, bouncing a bit.

Alice raised an eyebrow at her, "What's got you cheerful?"

_It should be seen as sad that my best friend thinks something's wrong when I'm in a __good__ mood._

Lily grinned, "James. James Potter has got me cheerful."

Alice gave her a knowing smile, "Really, now?"

"Yes," Lily answered, ignoring her sarcastic tone.

"So you two are together then?" Alice combed her fingers through the underneath of her short hair.

Lily nodded with a smile.

"Finally," Alice sighed. "I was beginning to think you'd start another ridiculous bet."

"What do you mean 'finally'?" Lily demanded.

Alice laughed, "I _mean_ just that. Finally. It took you long enough."

Lily stood with her hands on her hips. "Up until now he _was_ an immature prick," she reminded.

"Up until now? You mean to say that, until the past week, James Potter was still the same James Potter you met on the train in first year?"

_Yes._

Alice took Lily's expression as an answer. "Lily, he didn't change overnight. Not even this week."

"What are you talking about?"

Alice gave Lily an almost pitying look. "Lils, come on, it's not that he just happened to become a nice guy by Monday morning. You just never got to know him enough."

_I hate it when she makes sense. _

"Dinner's going to start soon," Lily said. "We should go."

Alice shook her head, "Way to change the subject, Lils."

* * *

"Was that really necessary?" Lily asked as Alice continued to laugh.

"Really necessary? No. Necessary? Yes," James replied.

Lily hit his arm, "I cannot believe you! We haven't even gone on a date yet. We just got together an hour ago. But you find it necessary to announce to the _entire_ Great Hall that we're together?"

Remus chuckled at James and then looked at Lily. "Oh come on Lily, the poor bloke's been waiting for this since he was eleven. Give him a break."

"Yeah, cut the guy some slack," Sirius chimed.

James leaned over and pecked Lily on the cheek. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

**Is she really that upset?**

_Well…I mean who does that? Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. It was a romantic gesture. Not idiotic._

Lily sighed. "It's alright. But do know how many questions they're going to ask? And how many hours I'll be up tonight with them squealing my ears off?"

James winced, "You could hang out with us?" he offered.

_There's a solution…no, they'd just bother me tomorrow. Might as well get it over with._

Lily shook her head as the food appeared on the tables. The chatter rose to an even higher volume as students' began to pile their meals onto their plates.

Sirius raised his goblet just as Peter was about to start eating and everybody else was reaching to serve themselves dinner.

"I would like to propose a toast!" he declared.

_Oh Merlin._

**Put the goblet down Pads.**

"To my best friend," he began, "and to the girl he's chased since we got here. James and Lily. Two-"

"Shut up," Remus said as he pulled Sirius' arm down and placed a piece of roast beef on his plate. Grabbing a Yorkshire pudding for himself he told Sirius to shut up and eat his dinner.

"Sure thing, Father," Sirius retorted, but he still cut into the meat and took a bite anyway.

A group of sixth year boys sat down beside Alice, Lily on her other side and James siting on Lily's left. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter gave the sixth years questioning looks for being so close when there was, in fact, an entire stretch of the table still empty on the other side.

One of the boys looked at Lily. "Get into any more catfights in Hogsmeade, Evans?" he winked. And from beside her Lily swore she heard James growl.

Lily ignored the boy and continued to work her way through her meal.

_Really James? Calm down._

**Sod off you prat. Stupid sixth year.**

Lily put her hand on James' and squeezed it slightly before continuing her conversation with Alice. She felt James relax a bit and she smiled at him.

_Good grief. You can't expect to throw spoons at every immature bloke I encounter._

**Not acting jealous and protective so soon. Not acting…she's got the prettiest smile.**

* * *

Lily stepped into the common room and froze.

_If you turn now, maybe you can find James, maybe he knows a secret passageway that could get me into the dormitory unnoticed and—James is already in his dormitory. You could try and slip by and just pray they won't see you—_

A fifth year turned around just as Lily was slowly and _quietly_ stepping into the common room.

"Lily!" the petit brunette exclaimed. "She's here!"

_Oh Merlin._

"Hello," Lily greeted, trying to sound cheerful but hearing her voice waver in the middle anyway. She spotted Alice in the midst of the group of girls and she shot her a look. "Alice, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

Alice nodded and pulled herself away from the crowd, letting Lily lead her to the side of the room.

"What's up?" Alice asked.

"Get rid of them," Lily ordered, skipping any pleasantries between her and her best friend.

"Lily," Alice said, "it's the Gryffindor common room. I can't really kick them out."

"If there's a will, there's a way," Lily sing-songed.

"Lily," Alice said pleadingly.

_Oh no, this isn't my problem. They will not die if they don't find out what it's like to be pined for and then officially with James Potter. They will survive just fine._

"I'm going up to our dormitory and I'm going to work on my homework," Lily decided firmly.

"And if they follow you up there?" Alice questioned amusedly.

Lily shrugged, "I'm not letting them in."

"Alright, good luck," Alice wished her as she headed off up the staircase.

Lily went into their dormitory and pulled off her boots, placing her wand on her nightstand. She flopped onto her bed and got comfortable, pulling out her Potions book to do the reading for Monday. She had gotten a page into it when Alice slipped into the room and scurried over to her own bed.

"They're coming for you," she whispered eerily. "They're coming for you…up the stairs and down the hall….they're coming for you…"

Lily threw a paperback off her nightstand at her.

Emmeline Vance, and Mary MacDonald, the two other girls Alice and Lily shared the dormitory with, were the first to enter. Mary was on the Quidditch team and Lily recalled her being part of the 'Lily Feint' earlier that morning.

The two girls got comfortable on their own beds, looking casual as just about eight other girls followed in behind them, as if it was perfectly normal for a dozen of them to be in there at once.

The girls all sat around Lily's bed, none of them daring to actually touch her bed, sitting a safe distance of at least a foot away.

Lily held her book up closer to her face, trying to block them out.

_Pay no attention. Pay no attention. Just pretend they aren't there and…_

"So, Lily, you're dating James, right?" Mary began hesitantly.

Lily nodded, still staring down at her book.

"How did you two get together?"

_Just get it over with. _

Lily put down her book and sat up a bit and immediately the other girls did as well. Lily looked at the younger girl who had posed the question and sighed. "It's a long story and most of it I can't tell. But basically, I got to know him over the last week and we became really close friends."

"How long have you been together?" Lauren Phelps, a sixth year and avid gossiper, asked with slight edge to her voice. Clearly, she was one of the many girls who had a thing for James. "Since that party Monday," she continued. "Because you two seemed pretty…um, _close_ when you left that closet."

"Shut up Lauren," Alice snapped.

"That's hardly any of your business," Lily said, keeping her voice calm despite her annoyance.

"Is he a good kisser?" Emmeline asked jokingly.

A couple girls in the room nodded, "He's amazing."

_Calm yourself Lily. You know how many girls he's been with._

"Is it a serious relationship?" A fifth year, Meaghan something or another, asked. Not rudely like Lauren, Meaghan was sweet. "You two are good together," she said kindly, "I think you guys could last."

Lily smiled at her. "Thanks. I really hope so."

* * *

She got up to the boys' dormitory an hour later.

_Finally._

"I just spent an hour talking to those girls," Lily sighed, sitting down non James' bed to face Remus. He and Peter were the only two in the room. "Hey, where are James and Sirius?"

"They went to the kitchens, they should be back soon," Remus told her.

Lily nodded, "So what are you two doing?"

"Waiting for you," Peter replied from across the room. "They didn't want you leaving if there was no one here."

"We're back!" Sirius sang as he and James entered the room.

"Oh great, you're here, Lils." James carried in a covered tray and sat down next to her, placing the tray off to the side. "How'd interrogation go?"

"Horribly."

"Really."

"Do you have any idea how many girls like and have liked you?" she asked rhetorically. "A lot. And do you know how many questions they have about you? Not to mention the fact that to them _nothing_ is too personal."

**Well those are girls for you.**

Sirius deadpanned, "You didn't tell them anything from-"

"Not a thing," Lily interrupted. "But they wanted to know a lot about you too. What happened between you and Lauren Phelps?"

**Lauren Phelps. Scary little girl.**

Sirius groaned. "Story's too long to tell."

_I'm so sure._

Lily fell back on James bed, her hair falling around her head in a red halo of curls. "I'm not going back there. I won't do it," she stated flatly.

"You can stay here," James suggested impishly.

Lily kicked his shin lightly.

"Kidding," he added. "Anyway, we've got something to cheer you up."

"What's that?" she asked.

**Go ahead Remy.**

James nodded at Remus and he got up and grabbed something from behind the door.

_A gift basket._

"A gift basket?" Lily asked.

"For you," Peter squeaked.

Remus handed her the basket and she undid the green ribbon at the top with a grin. She tied it on the top of her head as a headband and spun it around so the bow was hidden under her hair.

**Matches her eyes.**

_This is like Christmas!_

She opened the cellophane and James vanished it for her with a flick of his wand. The basket itself was chocolate brown, square with a large handle. She pulled out the trophy first.

"M?" she asked. The large, gold M sitting atop a wooden base.

"Read the label," James told her.

_Awarded to Lily Evans—Honorary Marauder_

"You made this?"

"I transfigured it," James told her. "It was a Quidditch trophy. A broomstick. Then Moony did the engraving."

"Thanks," she placed the trophy beside her and pulled out three, small silver objects. "Dungbombs?" she guessed.

"For when you feel like wrecking a _little_ havoc," Sirius chuckled.

"Wonderful," she gently set them on the floor. "And…" she pulled out a piece of parchment from the basket and read the first few lines. "Our contract."

"For reminiscing purposes," Remus explained with a smile.

Lily shook her head with a smile and then pulled out the remaining gift. "A notebook," she said with surprise. "Thank you."

**We wouldn't give you just any notebook.**

"It's like our four-way notebooks," James told her. "It's linked to ours so…I guess that makes them five-way now."

_What?_

James handed her a quill and inkwell. "Write something," he instructed. As Lily sat with the quill in hand and notebook on her lap, thinking of what to write, the four blokes went to their bags and pulled out their own notebooks.

_November 22__nd_

Sirius was the first to grab his quill and inkwell and in second his messy scrawl appeared on her page.

_**It's not a diary Evans. It's for passing notes.**_

_How often do you use these?_

**Just about every History of Magic class**

_And we haven't gotten caught yet ~Remus by the way_

_I know the writing._

**So you like the notebook then?**

_It's great. Thank you. I feel loads better._

**Well we'll be ruing that in a minute.**

"What do you mean?" Lily asked aloud.

James pulled the cover off the tray.

"No," Lily said. "Oh no. I think I'm going to be sick."

James grinned, "Come on, just help me eat—"

"That's what you said last time," she interrupted. "And I refuse to eat another waffle."

"Then eat the strawberries," Sirius told her. "More waffles for us."

"Fine," Lily laughed as they began to eat, plucking a strawberry off the top for herself.

* * *

"James," Lily said as the umpteenth male that morning walked by and patted James back with a quick 'congratulations.'

_Are you kidding me? I think that makes twenty three now._

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations!" she mimicked.

**Oh Lily.**

"Look, I'm sorry if it offends you…"

"It's not offending," Lily said. "In fact, it was sort of funny at first. But now it's just getting to be a little much."

Another walked by, "Heard you finally own her over Potter, nice!"

Lily gave James a pointed look and he sighed. "It's a big deal to them," he shrugged. "They've been waiting for this day."

"Yeah, but you're getting high fives and congratulations," she told him. "I've been getting death glares and some rather rude and uncalled for comments."

**Girls are mean.**

"Who said what to you?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," she waved it off. "How long will it take for this all to die down?"

"I don't know."

"It doesn't bother you even in the least?" she questioned.

"Not really. It reminds me that it's all actually happening, you know?" he said.

Lily held his hand in hers. "You don't need them to remind you of that. You've got me."

"And that's not a big deal?" he asked.

"Sure it is. To us," she agreed.

"Well as long as there _is_ an 'us' I'm happy."

Lily looked around them. "Definitely. But…all the staring is still making me a little uncomfortable."

James squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Let them stare."

Lily looked around them and then looked at James. "Rematch," she said.

"What?"

"I'll race you outside. Whoever reaches the beech tree by the lake first, wins."

"Alright," James agreed. "You're on."

"And no picking up the opponent," she told him. "No cheap tricks."

They lined up to each other and stood ready to run. And suddenly it was like there was nobody staring at them. Nobody else in the world but them.

_And we'll run away from all of them._

**Run, run.**

"Ready," Lily grinned.

"Set," James waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed.

"Go!" she yelled.

And together they took off.

* * *

A/N: Okay and THAT'S the END.

Thank you all so so much for reading this and huge thank you to everyone who reviewing. Never did I ever imagine I could get 900 reviews. Little old me. It was unbelievable. Now this is going to be a long author's not and you don't have to read it if you don't want to. I understand.

I don't know if any of you read my other stories 'Just Between You and Me' or 'So This is Christmas' or even 'Save Me' but I have wb with those and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue them so if any of you are interested in taking them over please message me.

Now Question time!

1) Two 6)Halloween 11) oops 16) Don't be so nosey 21) Superstition Stevie Wonder 26) Polo/Tennis/ golf shirt

2) A super bus 7) Wicked 12) Purple 17) The Cosby Show 22) GOF and HBP 27) Chocolate

3) Peter Pan 8) The Script 13) paterfamilias 18) I twirl 23) Strawberry shortcake

4) Viva Las Vegas 9) Eight 14) Vegetables 19) Neither. tried pepsi once when i was little 24) A cow

5) Shakespeare 10) Penguin 15) 1-2-4 20) Weeping willow 25) Untidy places

Do you think we could get to 1000 reviews? Please?

Again thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I know you were asking for a sequel but I don't think I'll be writing one. However I've already begun a chapter for a new L/J that I'm debating over. But I'm thinking I might write a Dramione instead...

Anyways,

Scarlett


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